Contributed by Maine Historical Society
Description
The Common Ground Country Fair is held annually in Maine by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). Formed in 1971, MOFGA is the oldest and largest state organic organization in the country. The first organic agricultural fair of its kind, the Common Ground Country Fair was first held at the Litchfield Fairgrounds in 1977, accommodating about 10,000 people. By 1981, the Fair had outgrown Litchfield, so MOFGA began renting the Windsor Fairgrounds, where the fair going crowd eventually grew to more than 50,000. In 1996, MOFGA purchased more than 200 acres of fields and forest in Unity, the permanent home of MOFAG and the fair since September 25, 1998. Each year a contest is held to design the fair image.
Olga Pastuchiv sent in her bee design to the Common Ground Country Fair's yearly design contest partly because the posters generally alternate between animals one year and plants the next, and partly because she knew many beekeepers and “that seemed like one of those industries that hadn’t been touched.”
Born in Richmond, Pastuchiv lived and studied around the US and internationally before settling again in Maine. Pastuchiv paints landscapes, still life subjects in oils and watercolors, she does woodcuts (the bee poster that the t-shirt is based upon was a hand-colored woodcut), has illustrated botanical texts, published a children’s book (Minas and the Fish, Houghton Mifflin, 1997) and has taught college-level and younger students the art of woodcuts.
About This Item
- Title: Common Ground Country Fair t-shirt, 1998
- Creator: Olga Pastuchiv
- Creation Date: 1998
- Subject Date: 1998
- Location: Unity, Waldo County, ME
- Media: Cotton, ink
- Local Code: 2022.082.001
- Collection: Costume collection
- Object Type: Physical Object
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For more information about this item, contact:
Maine Historical Society485 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
(207) 774-1822 x230
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This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. No Permission is required to use the low-resolution watermarked image for educational use, or as allowed by the applicable copyright. For all other uses, permission is required.
More to Consider
Item 116257
Common Ground Country Fair t-shirt, 1996
Exhibit
Fashion for the People: Maine's Graphic Tees
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