Clara's Light

Medium: Ink and graphite on Arches paper, mounted to birch panel, varnished

Dimensions: 6" x 8"

Long Island, New York

The Story:
Petit Manan Lighthouse, erected atop the low, rocky island of Petit Manan, is known to be one of the foggiest spots on the Maine coast. It is said that birds have frequently collided with the lantern at Petit Manan over the years due to the visibility issues caused by the fog, as accounts from the lightkeepers can attest to. In a book written about this place and all of its history, there is a passage that describes an early morning inspector's visit that found hundreds of dead birds scattered near the tower.
It has been said that on certain days, in the deepest fog, a puffin as tall as the lighthouse now stands guard, protecting birds from flying into the lighthouse as they had for so many years. No one has ever been able to document this phenomenon; its origin comes from the many sailors who tell how, when the fog grows as thick as soup, they can see a puffin as tall as the lighthouse on the little island. Some say she is a ghost of one of the birds who had the unfortunate fate of flying into the structure, while others say she is some ancient nautical being that finally found her purpose in life, protecting the small birds from a dismal fate. Though she cannot be proven to exist, one fact keeps the locals believing: since the sailors first began talking of this gigantic puffin, not a single bird has been found dead at the base of the Petit Manan Lighthouse.