PHIPPSBURG

In Nancy Perkins’ eyes, Seguin Island has the best outhouse in Maine. An artist and preservationist of the island, Perkins said, “it’s certainly the cleanest and brightest.”

But a clean outhouse is hardly the reason Perkins convinced the Friends of Seguin Island Light Station to allow her to display and sell paintings in the lighthouse museum. That was her artist eyes.

“We hope this art display and sale will raise money to help with upkeep and in keeping the island going. It would be such a shame if it couldn’t support itself,” Perkins said. She got the idea of using the lighthouse structure as a gallery after spending the night on the island last summer, one of the perks of FOSILS membership.

“Every year FOSILS has a fundraising event where it auctions off memberships and subsequent nights spent out here on the island. I was lucky to get to stay out here last summer. That’s when I got the idea for the exhibit. Being an artist myself I am aware of how many gifted, local, Maine artists there are around here in coastal Maine, and I thought it would be a great way to raise money for the lighthouse,” she said.

Perkins has gathered paintings from 20 different Maine artists and hung them on double-sided pegboards in the building adjoining the lighthouse. The sale of each painting generates income to preserve the more than 150- year-old structure.

“The art had to be Seguin Island-related in some way. So, that’s why some of the paintings show Capt. Ethan coming around the fort at Popham, since he runs the Seguin Island Ferry. Others show the view as it’s seen from here on the island, but it might not include the lighthouse itself,” said Lindsay Perkins, Nancy’s daughter. Both mother and daughter have been involved in this project from the very start.

Some of the paintings have already sold, creating empty spots on the display board. Nancy Perkins brought three additional paintings to hang up this past Friday in order to fill some of the empty spaces. “Initially I had told each artist they could only submit one work of art, but as some of the paintings have sold, I am glad some of them didn’t listen and gave me more than one,” she said.

The art exhibit and sale will continue through Maine Open Lighthouse Day on Sept. 15.

Excursions

Getting to the island is not much of a problem for boat owners in terms of distance. However, upon arrival, one of the limiting factors is that boaters have to have a dingy. “There are six moorings, but there is no dock, so unless people use the ferry, they need to have a way to get to shore,” said Capt. Ethan DeBery of Fish ‘n’ Trips Charters and the Seguin Island Ferry.

Even those who ride with DeBery have to be prepared to step into the water and walk the last 10 feet over rocks and sand.

The Seguin Island Ferry leaves at 11 a.m. from the beach at Fort Popham every day, except Wednesday and Saturday.

One of the reasons DeBery does not offer ferry service to the island on Wednesdays is because that’s when the Ramseys, a couple from North Carolina who are living on the island for the summer, hitch a ride. “We go into town with all our laundry, trash and returnables. And we spend all day there shopping and cleaning our clothes, only to load everything back up and head back out to the island for another week. This past Wednesday we got to eat some ice cream, which was a real treat,” said Beverly Stephens Ramsey, who with her husband, Bo, and their dog Rambo are the 2012 lighthouse keepers.

“Every year they (FOSILS) pick one couple that comes and stays here from Memorial Day through Labor Day. I have been a Friend of Seguin since 1999, and so we were eligible to apply. This has just been the greatest summer. I would not trade this for anything. I have done all kinds of little projects around here in order to stay busy and then we get to visit with the people that Ethan brings over on the ferry nearly every day,” Ramsey said.

For more information about FOSILS, visit www.seguinisland.org.

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