The Great Salt Bay poster on the door of the reporters office at The Lincoln County News.
One of the great things about the job of a newspaper reporter is always having an excuse to call someone we find interesting and ask questions about what they’re up to.
This week, for me, that person was Alna artist and illustrator Jon Luoma.
I first became aware of Jon Luoma a couple of years ago when his work was on display at Skidompha.
I don’t consider myself knowledgeable about art, but Luoma’s paintings immediately appealed to me. I made a mental note to interview him someday, and that interview last week resulted in the article in this edition.
Many local people who have never heard of Jon Luoma are nonetheless likely to know at least one example of his work – a poster of Great Salt Bay.
We know it well here at The Lincoln County News because the poster hangs on the door of the reporters office. Even before I knew Jon Luoma’s name, I had looked at his work hundreds of times. I have seen the same poster in other public places nearby, so I think the same is true for many others.
My article about Jon wasn’t about the poster, but I asked him about it anyway.
It turns out the poster was former Damariscotta River Association Executive Director Mark DesMeules’ idea, and DesMeules recruited Luoma to make it happen.
“We went out on a boat and I spent time with a snorkeling mask on the shore of Great Salt Bay sticking my face underwater,” Luoma said.
He also did “hours and weeks of research” and consulted biologists and other experts about the many species in the poster, from local icons like the alewife, common loon, and horseshoe crab to many lesser-known species.
“Great Salt Bay is a shallow body of water, but there’s just a huge world going on under there that most of us don’t see,” Luoma said.
The poster represents an intersection of art and science, and serves to educate those who view it about the rich biodiversity of Great Salt Bay – Maine’s first Marine Protected Area, as the poster states.
It’s easy to overlook natural wonders like Great Salt Bay when they’re in your backyard – or front yard, as is the case with The Lincoln County News office and Great Salt Bay.
Luoma’s poster – and his body of work as a whole – gives us a deeper appreciation of our beautiful surroundings.
