Maine’s wild, rocky coast is perfect fodder for flights of imagination. The hidden inlets, acres of forests and abundance of creatures both in and out of the water make for some great daydreaming opportunities.
More often than not, children are the ones imagining magical, fantastic things in seemingly ordinary places. In songwriter and artist Shana Barry’s case, she has used her imagination to create a whole world, inspired by Maine. In her mind, there’s an island called Fof, somewhere off the coast of Maine, where gentle, furry creatures called Fofers live.
“It’s the island I’d like to live on. Fof is, in a lot of ways, a Maine island. It’s got Maine animals and plants, and the water is very cold,” said Barry, who until recently lived in Eastport with her husband, Crash. “It’s a place with no cars or televisions. Just gardens and trees. I grew up romping around on Peaks Island, so I understand it. It’s kind of a dream for me.”
The island of Fof serves as the setting for Barry’s children’s album “A Pink Whale and a Very Tall Tree,” and for the big, cuddly art dolls she has made of some of the residents of Fof. With the show several years in the making, Barry has now taken her dolls, music and accompanying animations on the road, performing for families at libraries and arts centers all across the state.
Before living Down East and reinventing herself as a children’s performer, Barry lived in Portland, where she was the singer for the critically acclaimed, now-defunct band Seekonk. In addition to her work with Seekonk, Barry has also written and recorded an album for grown-ups called “Overdreaming,” which features 10 tracks of haunting, gentle, slightly eerie songs, inspired by her life in Eastport.
Her airy, beautiful vocals work just as well in the spare, simple, but incredibly engaging folk music featured on “A Pink Whale” as they do in the experimental indie rock that Seekonk played. As with most of the best music for kids, “A Pink Whale” is meant for smaller people, but grown-ups can enjoy it just as much.
Before there was an album, though, there were the Fofer dolls.
“I’d been making more traditional art dolls for years. But I was also making sculpture, and I made one using sculpted hands that come out of this big wall of fur,” said Barry, who has made everything from one-of-a-kind President Obama dolls to Sally, the World’s Largest Sardine, which each year is a part of Eastport’s New Year’s Eve celebration. “I kind of stepped back and thought about it for a little bit. And then it all started coming together.”
Like Gepetto with his Pinocchio, the Fofers came to life. When you see them face to face, they’re smiling, friendly, kid-sized creatures, part Muppet and part human, with a bit of Ewok thrown in for good measure. They have people faces and hands (sculpted individually out of air-dry clay by Barry) with furry, cuddly, poseable bodies that come in many colors. They have friends on the island named Peaceballs, which are like a cross between a llama and a dog — and also very furry. Naturally, when kids meet a Fofer doll for the first time, they have lots of questions.
“I really love it when the kids are really engaged and ask questions,” said Barry. “They always want to know what colors they come in. One kid asked me if they came in plaid or stripes or polka dots. One little girl wanted to know there are boy Fofers, which of course there are. They’re always interested.”
The unofficial lead Fofer, Otamo, gets into lots of adventures — such as the encounter with the Pink Whale, in which she meets a whale while out rowing her boat. She is scared initially, but after a little while the whale and the Fofer become friends. The lesson? Don’t judge a book by its cover. Whales may look big and scary, but really, they’re friendly just like us. Quietly, “A Pink Whale” is full of lots of important lessons, though they aren’t obvious at first.
“I think there’s a lot of fear of the unknown with both parents and kids,” said Barry. “I hope my music and art encourages kids to get out and adventure and explore. There’s a lot of world out there for them. Those are some of the things that I think are important, so I try to share them with people through my songs.”
Barry decided to take the Fofer show on the road this past spring. She created a series of Flash computer animations to accompany each song, so each performance features her on vocals, guitar and ukulele, and a projection screen full of bright, colorful animations. To say Barry is one extremely multitalented artist is a bit of an understatement.
Barry and her husband intend to move to the Belfast area this fall, so expect lots more Fofer shows through the midcoast region. She has more Fofer songs and adventures ready to go, in addition to the songs on “A Pink Whale.” Fof and its strange little inhabitants continue to be a source of inspiration for Barry.
“As long as the ideas keep coming, I’m happy to keep writing songs. It’s amazing how the whole project has evolved. I’m really having a blast doing it,” said Barry. “I never planned to do anything like this, but I’m so happy that’s how it turned out. It’s very satisfying.”
Shana Barry and the Fofers will appear next at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 26, at the Winter Street Center in Bath, followed by a performance at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Vinalhaven Public Library. At 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, she will be at the Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft. CDs are available at all shows, as well as on Amazon.com and iTunes. For more information, visit www.fofers.com.
