Every summer scores of sturgeon battle against the current of the mighty Kennebec River to make their way upstream in order to find suitable mating spots. These prehistoric behemoths, which can grow as large as 16 feet and weigh as much as 800 pounds, draw thousands of visitors to the Augusta shoreline to watch their curious jumping habits– the likes and reasons for which still remain a mystery.
Paying homage to these mighty, ancient creatures, the Augusta Downtown Alliance, through the generosity’s of T-Mobile’s Hometown Grant, installed 26 fiberglass sturgeon on Water Street to bring these magnificent creatures to new light.
Featuring the designs of 25 regional artists, several of which include collaborations from nonprofits, as well as business owners, these colorful fish will grace our sidewalks each summer, as we invite you to grapple the mystery of a living fossil that has been around for over 250 million years!
Special thanks to the following sponsors: T-Mobile, Fiberglass Farm, Mike Hurley, Longfellow’s Greenhouses, Folsom Landscape Fabrications, Dave Dostie Photography, CP Sketch, the City of Augusta, O&P Glass, Smart Eyecare, KV Federal Credit Union, our amazing artists, and the Augusta Downtown Alliance Board of Directors, all of which played a role in bringing this unique project to life!
(All photos credited to Dave Dostie Photography)
Special Thanks to our Water Street Gardens Sponsor
Each year, at the base of our sturgeon on Water Street, whiskey barrels are adorned with flowers to beautify our Downtown. This year, we were blessed with all of the flowers that we needed from a sponsor that never asked for anything in return. Longfellow’s Greenhouses in Manchester, ME continues to be a local, family-owned powerhouse, serving our capital area with flowers, houseplants, garden supplies, and more.
Special thanks to the Longfellow family for this generous donation.
About the Artist
Devin Bachelder
A lifelong resident of Augusta, Devin is a rising star in the local arts scene and has been featured at Harlow Gallery in Hallowell. An aspiring tattoo artist, you can find him at Saylorink Tattoo in Downtown Augusta, where he is currently apprenticing. He describes his art style as consisting of tattoo imagery mostly, skulls, flowers, lettering etc. and his sculpture captures the essence of a monster fish.
Find him on Instagram here: @heythatsradman
About the Artist
Elise Faris
Elise is an accomplished artist who graduated from UMA receiving her degree in Education in Visual Arts. Her metal sculpture has been featured at Viles Arboretum and she has expertise in a variety of different mediums. Her brightly colored sturgeon incorporates colors that glow in the dark.
Find her work on instagram: @elisemariefaris
About the Artist
Jennifer Dubord
Jennifer Dubord is an accomplished artist that lives in Fairfield, Maine who designed and sculpted the original sturgeon model, from which all 26 were based. She does everything from illustration to painting to sculpture and you can view her work here:
About the Artist
The Augusta Teen Center
The Augusta Teen Center is a nonprofit, youth organization which provides a safe space for teens to congregate and take part in activities as they grow into adulthood. Sponsored by KV Federal Credit Union, the Teen Center’s sculpture entitled “Words,” features snippets of positive messages that encourage growth.
About the Artist
Dustin Tribou
The owner of Saylorink Tattoo, Dustin is a professional artist who has been applying his unique artistry to clientele for the better of 12 years. Always wanting to expand the arts, he gravitated towards this project to help expose the public to new and creative ideas.
Find him on Instragram: @saylorink
Learn more at: https://www.saylorink.com/
Find his studio on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/saylorink
About the Artist
The Studio at Gallant Therapy
The Studio at Gallant Therapy Services is a community supports program whose mission is to provide a creative space for artists, writers and makers of all abilities. Each of their artists added their own unique touch to their sturgeon.
Learn more at: https://maineot.com/the-studio
About the Artist
Spindleworks Offsite at the Harlow
Spindleworks is a non profit art center for adults with disabilities and a program of the Independence Association of Brunswick Maine, whose mission is to help children and adults with disabilities achieve full and inclusive lives in their chosen community. Their sturgeon features elements of nature.
Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/Spindleworks
About the Artist
Marie Spaulding
Marie Spaulding is a professional Maine based artist who specializes in capturing nature within art. Her works can be found in various downtown businesses including Merkaba Sol. Her sturgeon incorporates wildlife and special Augusta and Maine-based wildlife and symbols.
Website: https://mariespauldingart.com/
Instagram: @mariespauldingart
About the Artist
Kristin Thornton
Kristin is a resident of Southern Maine and a graduate of the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone, Maine. A Lyme Disease survivor, she has taken the many challenges that have come her way as a result and applied it to her artwork. Her sturgeon invokes an intricate black and white pattern that invokes the leaves of a vine.
About the Artist
C.P. Sketch
CP Sketch is a Central Maine artist/maker that is interested in exploring time and history and how the impermanence of memory obscures that perception, creating a layered dream-like space. Drawing inspiration from old media such as video games, he hybrids digital fantasy with physical objects blending the touchless with tactile traditions. A graduate of UMA with a concentration in art and painting, his work can be found throughout the Downtown Augusta area, including a mural on Front Street. CP was inspired by the history and anatomy of the sturgeon, excavating through modern color schemes and landscapes to uncover the mystery of the prehistoric world that the sturgeon came from.
Learn more at: www.cpsketch.com
Instagram: @c.p.sketch
About the Artist
Tim Ratliff
Tim is an artist and resident of Southern Maine who has always been drawn to the water. An avid fisherman, he was intrigued at the concept of this project, and as in past works sought to capture the essence of aquatic culture.
About the Artist
Helene Farrar
Helene is a professional artist from Central Maine whose works can be found almost everywhere. An early pioneer in Augusta’s “muralssaince,” her works are primarily in the ancient medium of encaustic, which is a beeswax-based painting medium. You can currently find her at the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell, which she manages.
Learn more at: http://www.helenefarrar.com/
About the Artist
Michelle Morgan
A resident of Connecticut with generational roots in Sabattus, Michelle works in IT by day but has a robust art practice, primarily in textiles but also in painting graphic and illustrative works in her free time. Her sculpture employs bright, whimsical colors and captures the essence of a spawning sturgeon.
Find her on Instagram: @mutuallyassureddeconstruction
About the Artist
Shana Rowe Jackson
Shana is a graduate of University Maine Augusta who studied under Peter Precourt. As a student, she helped draw Downtown Augusta’s first walking map. Drawing inspiration from the sky, Shana’s sturgeon presents the vastness and constant changing cloud formations and light which can be seen both as a metaphor for security and growth.
Learn more at: http://www.shanarowejackson.com/
About the Artist
Elise Anderson
Elise is a native of Boothbay who grew up in a family business well known for stoneware ceramics featuring animal designs. Working in 2D art, Elise enjoys exploring the complex patterns in nature that share infinite shapes in colours, seen in flowers, feathers, animal furs, and the glittering surface of fish scales. It was the latter that inspired her sturgeon sculpture.
About the Artist
Amanda Young
Amanda is an artist who has long been intrigued by the natural beauty that surrounds Augusta. With a large part of her work being nature-themed, Amanda’s sturgeon sought to capture elements from the various parks and trails that run through Maine’s Capital city.
On Instagram: @cold.house.studio
On Facebook: @coldhousestudiomaine
About the Artist
Mari McGuire
Mari McGuire is a local artist interested in capturing the essence of Augusta history and symbolism. Her intricate work features stories about Augusta lore, while displaying the names of prominent families who helped shape our area.
About the Artist
Ally Dutil
Ally Dutil is the owner of Highwater Studio in Augusta, which specializes in intricate and custom tattoos and paintings. A celebrated artist, you can find Ally’s work featured prominently on merchandising from State Lunch, custom beer cans for Cushnoc Brewing, as well as a mural at the Cushnoc Brewing Annex and CFC Wear in Biddeford. Her sturgeon, which was sponsored by Smart Eyecare, displays a variety of aquatic features with eyes.
Learn more at: http://www.allydutil.com/
Find her on Instagram: @allydutil
Find Highwater Studio on Instagram: @highwatertattoo
About the Artist
Heather Allen
Heather is an Augusta native with a background in Art, receiving a Masters of Science in Art Therapy. Though she practices real estate, art remains her passion and her ultimate goal would be to open an art gallery in Augusta. The sides of her sturgeon features iridescent tints to capture the sunlight, while on the belly she incorporates symbols of Augusta’s past and present.
About the Artist
Lori Miller
Lori is the owner of Rare Bird Art Studio in Downtown Augusta and has a passion for bringing art into the city. A former student at the University of Maine Augusta where she studies art, she hosts paint nights, as well painting tutorials, along with a Jackson Pollock style splatter room in her studio space. Her sturgeon captures the essence of nature with whimsical birds in a call back to her studio.
Find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RareBirdArt.StudioMaine
About the Artist
Alex Portela
Alex is a native of Windsor, Maine and a frequent visitor to Downtown Augusta. An accomplished artist, Alex makes her living creating and illustrating ceramic sculptures, many of which are miniature. Having painted murals both large and small, her favorite depictions include the Maine coast. Her sturgeon seeks to capture the essence of the Maine coast, complete with blue skies and pine trees.
Find her on Instagram: @hyydraworks
Support this artist on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Hyydraworks
About the Artist
Miranda Dixon
Miranda is an alumna of the University Maine at Augusta who holds a concentration in sculpture. A fan of Downtown Augusta over the years, Miranda’s sturgeon invokes the warmth of the community with a variety of warm colors. Her time at UMA and passion for the printmaking and painting courses she held in the Gannett Building make for a friendly home for her sturgeon.
Learn more at: https://www.mirandalynndixon.com/
About the Artist
Seth Bosworth
Seth is a Portland-based muralist who grew up near Augusta. With his work featured prominently across Maine including a mural at Juiced.’s 2018 Portland location, Seth draws inspiration from natural patterns found in nature. His camouflage inspired sturgeon calls to the hidden nature of sturgeon who go mostly unseen under water as they blend into their natural environment.
About the Artist
Sondra Schildroth
A resident of Brewer, Sondra is a self-taught multimedia artist who is a big believer in community art. Through the years, she has developed a personal style of painting around stained glass designs, with bright bold colors to invoke a sense of excitement and joy.
Find her on Instagram: @quempel
About the Artist
Ally Dutil
Ally Dutil is the owner of Highwater Studio in Hallowell, which specializes in intricate and custom tattoos and paintings. A celebrated artist, you can find Ally’s work featured prominently on merchandising from State Lunch, custom beer cans for Cushnoc Brewing, as well as a mural at the Cushnoc Brewing Annex and CFC Wear in Biddeford. Her sturgeon which was sponsored by O&P Glass displays a variety of aquatic features utilizing a black and white scheme.
Learn more at: http://www.allydutil.com/
Find her on Instagram: @allydutil
Find Highwater Studio on Instagram: @highwatertattoo
About the Artist
Chase & Nori Morrill
Chase and Nori Morrill are a father daughter duo who specialize in different crafts. As a cast member of the popular TV series Maine Cabin Masters, Chase is a carpenter by trade who is sued to working in 3D, while his daughter Nori specializes in 2D art, such as painting. Their sturgeon features aspects of German surrealism.
Learn more at: https://mainecabinmasters.com/
