2014 Maine Artist Fellows
The Maine Arts Commission’s Fellowships reward artistic excellence, advance the careers of Maine artists, and promote public awareness of the strength and distinction of Maine’s creative sector. Awards are made solely on the basis of artistic excellence. Due to the competitiveness of the Individual Artist Fellowship program and to avoid conflicts of interest, all jurors selected for the program reside outside Maine. The 5 Fellows for 2014 are featured below.
Meet the 2014 Fellows
Literary Arts Fellow
Jason Anthony
Jason Anthony of Damariscotta was selected for his nonfiction submission The Secret Society of Unconventional Cooks.
Jason received numerous writing awards, and his work appeared in anthologies and magazines. His published book Hoosh: Roast Penguin, Scurvy Day and Other Stories of Antarctic Cuisine draws from his experience working for the United States Antarctic Program.
Visual Arts Fellow
Alicia Eggert
Alicia Eggert of Portland is an interdisciplinary artist whose work often takes the form of kinetic, electronic, and interactive sculpture.
Before pursuing art, she earned an undergraduate degree in interior design and worked at an architectural firm in New York. She later completed an MFA in Sculpture and Dimensional Studies.
Her work remains rooted in design and focuses on relationships among language, image, and time.
Traditional Arts Fellow
Watie Akins
Watie Akins of Brewer is a Penobscot elder and master singer recognized for his dedication to conserving Penobscot traditional music.
His work included teaching and documenting traditional songs and preserving the quality and continuity of the art form for future generations.
Media and Performing Arts Fellow
Sumner McKane
Sumner McKane of Wiscasset is a musician and composer with a photographer’s mind. His observations of traveled landscapes and past lives become musical interpretations.
The resulting soundscapes combine fresh and familiar musical and emotional themes. His multimedia projects include In the Blood, which explores the lives and skills of Maine lumbermen and river drivers through film, oral history, sound, and live music.
Functional Craft Fellow
Robin Martin-Cust
Robin Martin-Cust of Deer Isle is a studio jeweler raised on a small farm in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, where both of her grandfathers introduced her to forging steel.
After moving to Deer Isle in 1991, she apprenticed with metalsmith Ronald Hayes Pearson. Robin studied industrial technology and metalsmithing and continued developing her work at schools including Arrowmont, Haystack, and Penland.
Her jewelry combines forged steel with precious metals and recycled materials, often using boat forms as metaphors for journeys through life.
Maine Artist Fellows by Year
View current and past Maine Artist Fellows by calendar year. New Fellows begin their fellowship term at the start of each calendar year.