UNITY, Maine — A praying mantis on a pumpkin patch. A rooster letting it rip. A team of draft bulls dressed to impress. Each year a new design is chosen to represent the Common Ground Country Fair. And like a concert T-shirt, the original artwork is a coveted keepsake emblazoned on posters, shirts and even onesies. They sell out fast.
When the agricultural celebration opens for the 39th year on Friday, a frolicsome goat munching on wheat and clover will wink at passers-by from all corners. The fair’s organizer, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, selects one design from scores of entries that captures the rural magic of Maine. Though hard to determine a single image for the wide-ranging fest, “we look for something that conveys that good feeling,” said fair director April Boucher.
This year, winning artist Arika von Edler, a College of the Atlantic alum, drew from experience. She worked on organic farms in Maine for years and based the painting on a goat she encountered on a friend’s dairy farm — Udder View in Columbia.
A portrait painter by trade, the 27-year-old turned her attention to an animal for the first time.
“I painted the entire thing with one paint brush,” said von Edler, which helped created a fuzzy, furry look via acrylics.
Reached in San Francisco, where she lives, she couldn’t be more thrilled that the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association went gaga for her goat.
“It’s so exciting. I have been looking at these posters my whole life,” said the Rhode Island native, who examined art from the fair’s humble beginnings and detected a pattern: “They are either vegetables and fruit, plants or animals.”
The annual contest is open to all members of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and Maine residents. Every year, 35 to 65 entries are received and voted on by a steering committee.
“It’s quite the intense process, people are very passionate,” said Boucher. “We try to let artists let their creative sides blossom. What does [Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association] mean to them? What do they think is a great image?”
Before the fair even opened, von Edler was reaping the rewards of her depiction. A children’s author in Camden hired her to illustrate an upcoming book, and a new patron ordered two paintings from her website.
“I am getting a lot of work through this poster. I didn’t recognize how many opportunities would come from this,” she said.
Munching on winter wheat and red clover, considered a green manure crop, with a Maine swallowtail pollinator flitting around the goat’s head, her image captured a sense of place.
Plus, “goats are making a huge comeback. It’s one of the most commonly ate animals in the world and goats are really cute,” said von Elder.
Von Edler will autograph posters at 2 p.m. Saturday at the fair’s Country Store.
