Art was in the Signs

Freeport carver goes from creating weathervanes to collector's items

Looking back, the signs that steered Tom McDermott in this direction are clear. In fact, back in 1977, McDermott carved a name board for a boat while working at his boat building business in Yarmouth. That proved to be the first step in getting McDermott to where he is today — a fullfledged artist with a gallery at 150 High Street in Portland. "I was carving letters," says McDermott, 53, who has lived in Freeport for 29 years, "and everyone in my family got a sign with their name on it."

These days, signs carved by McDermott can be seen around the world. He displays his work at his home shop on Desert Road in Freeport and has also recently combined forces with designer Jennings Garnett and furniture maker Chris Becksvoort at the gallery space in Portland. There, McDermott's work dominates the space, with four golden fish, inspired by weathervanes, positioned in front of the large window looking out onto one of Portland's busiest streets. The fish are gilded in 23-carat gold with copper fins and glass eyes. "I had my first show last year at the Freeport Historical Society and I sold everything," McDermott says. "That told me I can sell this stuff."

McDermott has been working with wood for more than 25 years but the bulk of his work has been large, commissioned projects. He started with signs and Cole Haan's green lettering in Freeport was his first to be hung. Next came Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren et al. and McDermott figures he made about 30 signs for businesses in Freeport and many that hang on Middle Street in Portland.

Word of McDermott's craft got out, and he began creating wood pieces for customers around the country and the world. From signs he moved on to weathervanes and he has created an eight-foot tuna vane, a giant mermaid and the cow jumping over the moon, which hangs in Bethesda, Md. He carved a giant grasshopper, which flies over a home in Yarmouth, and created a horse-inspired weathervane for the equestrian center at Pineland Farms.

"It's done in my mind before I even start," McDermott says. His fish, for example, begin with drawn patterns, either full-sized or to scale. "Then," he says, "it's just artistic license. Once it's designed and laid out, the carving is pretty automatic for me."

Doing work in homes, of course, requires particular measurements and materials. McDermott is currently working on a pair of mantels for a local home. One will depict a panoramic view of the Teton Mountains and the other the oceanscape of Castine. Each is eight feet wide and made of cherry and McDermott expects he'll put about 50 hours of work into each.

Large projects sustained McDermott through much of his career and have helped him build name recognition across the country. One of the most stunning examples of his work is the carved cherry doors which are the entrance to the Cole Haan store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. They took 500 hours to finish.

Locally, visitors to the Portland Public Market will recognize the town crier, giant fish and rooster all hanging there as McDermott's work.

These types of projects, however, are no longer what make McDermott tick. Tendinitis, bursitis and lower back pain make it nearly impossible for him to work on large pieces anymore but he keeps busy in his home shop. The work space is large enough to house a joiner, which can handle 20-foot pieces of wood and is open anytime McDermott is home. It is well equipped for doing big jobs, by hand carving or power tools, but McDermott has turned his attention to smaller things. His current love affair is with palm nuts. "I'm actually so excited about working on these nuts I've lost sleep," he says.

McDermott got the idea from an e-mail sent by a friend, then logged on to a Web site uploaded by a man in Alaska who turns palm nuts. McDermott sent away for a micro lathe and has begun turning palm nuts himself. He has also done face carvings on the seeds, while they're still housed in the shells, and mounted them on wood.

Working on the tiny nuts and seeds is a far cry from eight-foot weathervanes and towering doors, but McDermott has quickly become addicted.

"I just can't stop," he says. "I have to stop, I have other work to do.

"It will pass, I'm quite sure."

But McDermott's love for creating art certainly won't. On display at his gallery are several pieces that he says were previously just laying around his house but will fetch upwards of $200 or $300 dollars from customers who would prefer to see them in their own homes. There are fish decked out with tiny, colored electrical diodes (he purchased 5,000 on e-bay for $5) and one mounted on a wooden background decorated with a Korean cracker tin.

McDermott finds many of the complimentary non-wood objects he uses by visiting Asian markets in both Boston and New York. Even the smaller objects he creates take upwards of 10 hours to complete but everything he finishes is for sale. He says he doesn't have trouble parting with his creations but does regret the price he put on a particular green heron that required eight coats of enamel to show the ripples in the water below him. "Whoever bought it," he says, "got a really good deal."

He's already sold enough pieces through his new gallery to pay for his share of the rent on the space for the coming year. Word of mouth has been his best advertisement so far, but he and his gallery partners plan a two-day open house in February. The gallery is currently open on Fridays from noon until 8 p.m. and by appointment (865-1300).

It has been a process to get to this stage, but McDermott is enjoying his life as an artist.

"If I never do another sign it'll be OK with me," he says as he fingers a golden fish of butternut with fins made from an olive oil can. "I've gone from boats to signs to artwork. I think I'll stick with the artwork."

Portland Press Herald - Community Leader ~ January 12, 2006