Humane Society
4 Saturday/Sunday, December 22, 2018, Bangor Daily News
Continued from Page 1
JODI HERSEY
BANGOR MURAL — Liam Reading creating a history driven mural on the exterior of the Together Place.
Young painter leaves ‘historic’ impression on Bangor By Jodi Hersey
I
f you’ve driven through Bangor on Union Street near downtown recently, you may have noticed an impressive mural gracing one of the buildings there. Who painted it, and why? Wonder no more. Liam Reading of Bangor was born into a family of artists. His father is an architect, and his sister turns trash into treasure as an eco-artist. Reading decided to follow in their footsteps and enrolled in the studio art program at the University of Maine in Orono. Although he still has another year of studies to go before graduation, his talent is already being enjoyed by thousands in the downtown area. Reading spent the beginning of this past summer painting the exterior of the Together Place on Bangor’s Union Street with the faces of some of the state’s most influential Mainers. It’s the biggest canvas he’s ever worked on and a project he’s proud to have a hand in making. “It feels really good to
be a part of something that’s way bigger than myself,” Reading said. “The Bangor City Council had a meeting and came up with a list of influential Mainers and they gave that to me. I narrowed it down by half and came up with a design.” The Together Place is a peer-run recovery center that helps individuals with mental health and substance use issues. On one of the building’s walls, Reading chose to depict singer/songwriter Patty Griffin, writer Stephen King, health advocate Dorthea Dix, and civil war hero and former Maine Governor Joshua Chamberlain. “Since [the Together Place] helps people with mental health issues, I chose Dorthea Dix. She went into an insane asylum, basically faked insanity, to report on what was happening in the early 1900s,” Reading said. “My last project was at the Dorthea Dix Psychiatric Center, where I was asked to paint interior landscapes. Then I came down here and they
wanted me to paint Dorthea Dix [herself]. It’s a really cool connection.” On the side of the building that faces the Bangor YMCA, Reading chose to paint Olympic swimmer Ian Crocker, Olympic runner Joan Benoit Samuelson, and the first Native American major league baseball player, Louis Sockalexis. “Joan Benoit Samuelson was the first women’s marathon Olympic gold medalist in 1984. My mom actually ran in the 1984 Olympic trials, in the same race as her. So that was another cool connection,” Reading said. “I was a swimmer my whole youth and when I was 12, I actually broke Ian Crocker’s state record in the 100 IM [individual medley]. He went on to be an Olympic gold medalist. He was right up there with Michael Phelps. So it felt personal to honor him.” While Reading was focused on mixing colors and adding layers to his mural, motorists and pedestrians alike couldn’t stop themselves from commenting on his work.
“It looks good,” said one pedestrian. “It really does.” “Thank you,” Reading replied. “Good work,” a passing motorist shouted. Reading said hearing and seeing people’s reactions to his painting has been the most rewarding part of the experience. “Everyone has been really supportive of it,” Reading said. “I’ve had some great conversations because of it. You would usually pass people on the street and not have any interaction, and yet my art is causing that interaction. It’s exciting.” Reading put the finishing touches on the mural at the end of June. He said knowing when to put down your brush and walk away is a challenge for any artist. “That’s one of the trickiest things,” Reading said. “Painting these individuals from Maine, who have made a lasting impact on the world, has been an honor.” To see more of Liam Reading’s work, visit liamreading.com.
of all the cats at the BHS that day, the woman fixated on Footloose, as well. She ended up taking Footloose home, where Footloose received a new name: NyNy. But the story doesn’t end there. Recently, the woman sent the BHS adoption counselor an update. She said that NyNy has developed into a superb “service cat.” NyNy helps her owner by alerting her to important sounds around the house. And she’s even saved her owner’s life: once, during a drastic medical situation in the home, NyNy kept her owner awake long enough to text for help. “If it wasn't for my baby girl, I wouldn't be here and alive right now,” said the owner. “Unfortunately, this isn't the place you're going to find a service animal,” said Coventry. “We adopt out our animals to be loving, emotional support companions. So when we find these stories where people and animals have come together like this, it’s incredible. It's something that we didn't even know this cat was capable of.”
STEWIE’S HAPPY ENDING
Stewie is another brindle/ pit bull mix that came to the BHS recently. He first arrived after an unfortunate incident: he lived with a single female, and she passed away in her home. Stewie was there with her until she was found.
STEWIE
“When the first responders entered her house, it took some time for them to get in because he was very protective of his person,” said Coventry. “He lived with just her.” Stewie wasn’t fully socialized around new people. Unfortunately, the only person he knew was no longer there. According to Coventry, it took some time to build Stewie’s trust at the BHS. “Fortunately, he was very food-motivated,” she said, “so that allowed us to build a bond and a relationship with Stewie a little faster.” He was very protective in his kennel. He was already depressed when he arrived at the BHS. “He came here confused, grieving for his owner, not really understanding,” said Coventry. A married couple visited the BHS who had past experience with Stewie’s breed. They fell in love with Stewie and came in several times to visit him for trust and socialization through the BHS’s "Dogs Day Out" program. Importantly, said Coventry, Stewie and the couple learned about each other. “We continue to get updates that he is settled well and he's really come out of his shell,” she said. “He's becoming more social, more outgoing, and very happy in this new neighborhood that he has.”