John Foley is a retired French and Spanish teacher from Woodland High School, and an artist who has created a series of paintings on Glooscap that is presently on exhibit at the Wabanaki Culture Center in Calais. He kindly granted permission for photos of his paintings to be shared with the Unique Maine Farms’ project. In the first painting in the exhibit he depicts his interpretation of the creation story in which Glooscap and the ash tree figures predominantly.
Foley has done numerous commissions on a variety of topics. His medium of choice is acrylics, which he uses for portraits, landscapes, wildlife, and local history paintings. He has exhibited at the Calais Library and has shown his paintings at the Waterville Main Street Show.
While building a canoe, he began wondering about the history of canoes. This led him to seek more information about Native American culture. He explained that his continued search deepened his respect for the culture and traditions of Native Americans. He studied Native American legends and found them “strangely beautiful, whimsical, interesting,and insightful.” He commented, “As I continued to listen to ancient voices that recounted them, I fell under their charm. Glooscap’s deeds and those with whom he interacted brought images to my mind. These paintings are my attempt to bring some of these to light.”
John can be contacted at: John Foley
2020 Airline Road
Alexander, Maine 04694
207-454-7621
