ART STATEMENT

By the time it gets to Arrowsic, the Kennebec River has traveled nearly 225 miles from
Moosehead Lake, pulling with it trees, beaver-chewed sticks, grass clumps, and
everything else: Styrofoam, soda bottles, old lumber, tires, rope, flip flops, nips,
hardhats, lighters… Some of this comes to rest along the clam flats at the tip of Arrowsic
Island, where it is joined by ocean debris including lobster buoys, trap parts, old boats,
and more rope. The muck becomes a museum of forgotten things that never go away.

In the winter of 2023, Arrowsic teens Ren Kauffunger and Charli Ware suggested that
the town’s Shellfish Conservation Committee clean the debris out of the clam flats,
offering to make a public art project that would involve the town in the creation of a
sculpture and discussion of the issue of marine debris and life in our estuary. On July
23, a clean up crew entered the grasses at South Squirrel Point on foot and by boat and
removed more than 20 bags of stuff.

On August 5, Ren and Charli worked with a big group to build a monument with all of
this marine debris on a plinth made of tires and waterlogged beams in front of town
hall. Please stop to check out all of the debris that, like us, finds a home in Arrowsic.

“My whole life I have been surrounded by water; the Kennebec River directly in front of
my house, and marshes behind. Over the years, the trash washing through the river has
grown, and the experience of cleaning the marsh seemed very impactful to everyone
involved. The amount of waste found, just in the area we covered, was mindblowing. I’d
like to give a big thank you to everyone who participated, and I am especially grateful
for my neighbor, Heather Weiss, who I previously did a much smaller scale driftwood art
installation with, which inspired this project.”—Charli Ware

“I loved working on both the cleanup and the art piece. Being able to make a positive
impact on the environment through the cleanup, and then turn all the debris we
cleaned up into something beautiful that shows off the importance of stewardship is
amazing. I am very thankful for the hard work everyone put in and hope this can be
scaled up next year, to make a bigger impact on the environment and spread our
message on the importance of the trash problem further.”—Ren Kauffunger

Special thanks to the Town of Arrowsic and The Nature Conservancy.

Photo Credit: Evan D'Souzat