Eli's World

Written By Skip Bates

That’s another great thing about Maine. It’s not that life imitates art; it’s that art really illustrates life. Maine is the way life should be. The Wyeth’s lived in Cushing. You might recognize Christina’s World, by Andrew Wyeth, shown to the left.

Christina’s world is the Olson House, which is located in Cushing. The building is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, is open to the public and is part of the Farnsworth complex. But it is also just down the road from my friend Eli’s farm. Eli might just have the Wyeth’s topped. While the Wyeth’s are on their third generation, Eli is the fifth generation of Ellis family to live on the family homestead, known as Brookfield Farm.

Same peninsula, same early 19th century architecture, same values. Inspired by Maine’s beauty like the Wyeth’s, Eli became an artist, crafting beautiful woodwork to make a living, and creating a beautiful life in which to live. Eli still remembers the words of one of his high school teachers, who said, “Before you pick a profession, you have to pick a lifestyle.” Eli picked his early on, deciding to live close to the land.

He and his wife, Aura, were married under an oak tree on their property by the shore of Muscongus Bay. They raise most of their own vegetables, sell fresh eggs, and occasionally raise a pig or two (the last pair, named “Tender” and “Roaster” were particularly well fed). Eli’s grandmother lives in one half of the house. Aura’s grandmother, mother, sisters, cousins, nieces and nephew all live nearby. The families are connected to the earth and connected to each other. Eli’s world is a good one. .

Some people come to Maine as tourists, hungry for culture, taking in museums and concerts. Other people come to Maine as artists, making a living by illustrating the world for others’ consumption. But when they are finally ready, the people who live in Maine are a breed apart. Mainers are those who have chosen to make their life their art.