The artwork of a Waldoboro artist and veteran is currently on display in the Maine House of Representatives and the capitol’s education conference room.
The works of Deborah Loughlin, a visual artist living in Waldoboro and a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, are on display with the artwork of veterans across Maine as part of the Maine veterans’ art show.
The show is sponsored by the Maine Arts Commission and is an exhibition of work on loan from the American Veterans Arts and Crafts Gallery. In total, 48 works of art created by Maine veterans will be on display in the capitol through Veterans Day, Nov. 11, through the arts commission’s Art in the Capitol program.
The American Veterans Arts and Crafts Gallery is a primarily online forum that serves to celebrate veterans by showcasing their art or crafts to the public.
Managed by James “Jay” Emerson, of Hudson, the gallery includes work by veterans from across the nation who served in all branches of the military.
According to Loughlin, this year’s exhibit at the State House is the culmination of work by a variety of veterans and groups to promote the display of veterans’ art in Maine.
“This show is a culmination of a lot of work for Maine veterans,” Loughlin said.
The Art in the Capitol program is designed to expand the audience of Maine artists, featuring their work throughout the state government complex in Augusta.
Art in the Capitol exhibits are free and open to the public.
Exhibitions are self-guided and may be viewed during business hours in the building where they are displayed.
A meet and greet for the current show is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 10 in the Hall of Flags in the Maine Legislature.
Loughlin served in the Coast Guard in the late 1970s and is part of a family with three generations of veterans.
Her father was a hard-hat diver during World War II and her son served in the Air Force during the Iraq War.
Loughlin has been creating visual art for around 35 years, though she had not focused on themes related to military service until fairly recently.
She said a 2010 appearance in Newsweek helped her to explore her service and that of her family members through art.
“That opened a big art door for me,” Loughlin said.
Following the Newsweek article, she took part in the Odysseus Project in Boston.
“It was my first experience with veterans’ art,” Loughlin said.
The Odysseus Project works to promote open dialogue between artists, veterans, students, refugees, immigrants, and members of the community, using art as a means to understand the connections between local communities and conflicts overseas.
Loughlin has worked at the University of Southern Maine and Maine College of Art. She looks back fondly on her time with the universities.
The artist said through her time with the schools she was able to take a number of courses.
She said one of the biggest lessons she learned was not to be afraid of materials.
“I learned most of my techniques there and I learned not to be afraid of new materials,” Loughlin said.
Over the years, Loughlin has used an eclectic base of materials, sculpting works from rubber tractor-trailer parts and hog casings, used in the process of sausage making, to make works of art.
Some of these works include “Post Modernist Life Jacket,” featured in Newsweek, and one of her works on display at the State House, a map titled “South of Tra La La,” depicted in a method of photography called cyanotype, a historical photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print.
In addition to the show currently running in Augusta, Loughlin participated in the Combat Paper workshop, a weeklong, intensive event where veterans created art made from their military uniforms at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle.
Haystack, an internationally renowned artist colony, offers intensive, studio-based workshops in a variety of craft media. Students at the school live, eat, and work on campus, where studios are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Veterans from across the country who had served in different wars participated in the Combat Paper symposium.
Loughlin said she was very grateful for the opportunity to spend time at the school, noting that veterans who participated in the program not only had a chance to interact with other artists but to spend time with one another, sharing past experiences and current involvement with veterans’ arts programs across the state and around the country.
She said the veterans made paper from their old uniforms, created from pulp derived from the uniforms’ fiber, and used that paper to create a wide variety of artwork.
“You can do anything you want with that paper pulp,” Loughlin said.
The Deer Isle workshop is the result of collaboration between Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and Combat Paper N.J., a veteran-run organization out of New Jersey, which works with veterans to create art from their uniforms using a similar process.
Loughlin said the veteran artists at Deer Isle created a variety of works, including books, sculptures, and even a pair of shoes.
She also said visual art was not the only medium explored through the workshop, with writing and poetry also created during the course.
“It was a weeklong deconstruction of the uniform,” Loughlin said.
Loughlin said some participants brought portions of their uniforms, such as a tie, while others brought the uniforms they still owned.
She brought the last Coast Guard uniform in her possession to the workshop.
Loughlin described her time on Deer Isle as an emotional experience.
“I am hopeful this will create a new dialogue for veterans and veteran artists of all realms,” Loughlin said.
She said her time at Haystack helped introduce her to the creative expression of fellow military service personnel, while also introducing her to a number of programs in the state for veterans.
“Since I opened that door I have found out more about activities for all veterans,” Loughlin said.
She noted that Camp Kieve in Nobleboro and Wavus Camps in Jefferson offer programs for veterans and their families.
According to Loughlin, the Combat Papers workshop not only offered veteran artists a chance to express themselves creatively, but also offered them an opportunity to come together and talk about their experiences among peers.
She said she is hopeful the expansion of art programs for veterans in Maine, especially the current exhibition at the State House, will help connect veteran artists to the wide variety of programs available for their creative pursuits.