Farm opens solar building

For fans of the children's book "A Wrinkle in Time," a tesseract is a science-based way to travel through time and space. In order to explain the concept, the book asks children to imagine that two ends of a cloth are brought together, allowing an ant to step from one area to another, without having to walk through all the space between.

For "A Wrinkle in Thyme," a Sumner-based farm owned by Mary Ann Haxton and Marty Elkins, the new Tesseract Building, which was unveiled to the public on Friday as part of a three-day event, may allow them to step directly into the future of a local, fiber arts-based economy.

The structure, which took six months to complete, represents the concerted efforts of individuals from various agencies and interested parties who came together to make the dreams of Haxton and Elkins come to fruition.

Addressing a crowd, that had assembled to witness the opening, Marty's brother Elery Keen said that, too often, efforts to boost local and sustainable business enterprises are scattered and unfocused.

"This is an example of how businesses can put it all together," he said, "to help themselves, and to help their community."

The building was funded in part by $32,000 in grants from the Rural Energy for America Program, and by Maine's Farms for the Future initiative.

Claudia Lowd of the Maine Rural Partners program, which also helped with the efforts, said that Maine's network of small rural businesses has a small-town, friendly feel to it.

"If there is such a thing as seven degrees of separation," she said, "in Maine, I think it's just one degree."

Building designer Kate Chesley said that she was very pleased with the outcome of the building, which hosts a full range of equipment that can transform raw wool into finished products. The building features a wooden stove, a host of windows designed to capture the heat of the sun, and solar panels that will heat water for use in the wool processing.

After Haxton and Elkins conducted opening ceremonies, various grandchildren of Elkins and Haxton led visitors on tours of the farm.

Kalyn McGuire, 11, said that people usually like to see the animals, especially Bubba, a draft horse who has been employed to haul sap to be used in the creation of maple syrup.

Elkins and Haxton would like their farm to become a strengthening centerpiece for the various fiber arts enterprises in the area.  In addition to hosting classes and workshops, they display the wares of locals who have made various wool products, both artistic and utilitarian.

Wool tips Photo:

WOOL TIPS -- Anne Gasse of South Paris (right) gives Monique Kandra of Northgate Farm in Winterport a bit of advice about fiber.