PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Longtime Presque Isle resident Anthony Scott said he has come to believe that everyone is born with a creative side to their personality, but adulthood catches up and discourages people from reaching that potential.
Presque Isle Historical Society members Craig Green (left) and Kim Smith speak to Anthony Scott during a recent episode of his web series Making It North. (Melissa Lizotte | The Star-Herald)
With his new video series “Making It North” on YouTube, Scott wants to encourage people — particularly those in northern Maine — to dismiss the idea that only musicians, writers, painters and other artists should be considered “creative” individuals.
Scott is a writer who has published a book of poetry and is working on a collection of interconnected short stories. He teaches English at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone and is a lead singer for the popular music group Star City Syndicate.
But even he admits that some of his most creative experiences come out of projects unrelated to literature or music, such as experimenting with a new culinary dish or woodworking.
Scott most recently built himself a dulcimer — a type of string instrument that resembles a guitar but is played similarly to a piano or keyboard.
“I think there’s a lot of creativity in someone cooking in their kitchen, restoring old vehicles or updating an old house. If you’re renovating a house, you better be a creative person, or else nothing will fit together,” Scott said. “Having creative intuition is merely a way of problem solving and adapting your techniques in the moment.”
Inspiring people to create became the motivation behind “Making It North”. Thus far Scott’s goal has been to publish an interview every week on the series’ YouTube channel. He talks with people about how they develop ideas, how they view their own creativity and what they’ve learned over the years through challenges, setbacks and successes.
Many interviewees so far have been Scott’s fellow teachers, writers and musicians, including MSSM colleagues Helana Brigman and Larry Berz, Star City Syndicate members Chris Morton and Jon Simonoff and SAD 1 music educators Molly and Jason Priest.
Presque Isle resident Anthony Scott speaks to a guest during a recent episode of Making It North, his new web series on YouTube chronicling the creative pursuits of people in northern Maine. (Melissa Lizotte | The Star-Herald)
But several interviews feature people who might not have thought of themselves as “creative” folks beforehand. In one such video Scott’s mother, Shannon Scott, who lives in Augusta, discusses how she came to see her seamstress work as creativity.
Scott said a recent interview with Kim Smith and Craig Green, members of the Presque Isle Historical Society, is an example of how creativity can involve restoring historical artifacts into a display that urges people to learn about Aroostook’s history. Smith and Green had restored the Maysville Grange into the Maysville Museum.
“There’s a lot of creativity in recreating an old thing and making it new, accessible and interactive,” Scott said about the Maysville Museum. “They are using new technologies to teach people about history. Even though it’s not literature or art, you cannot deny the creativity that is involved.”
For future interviews, Scott would like to connect with more people whose work exists outside the usual “creative arts” definitions, such as car repair specialists and craftspeople. He hopes that people who watch the videos realize just how many creative people live in Aroostook County and feel inspired to seek out their own unique projects.
Though Scott started “Making It North” after the COVID-19 pandemic, he knows from experience that pursuing creative work can help people get through many difficult times and reconnect with the joy of making something from a small idea.
“Children are naturally creative, but as we grow up we tend to listen to people who tell us what is ‘important’ and not worth our time,” Scott said. “There are a lot of hardships right now, but if I can open even a few people’s hearts to the joy of creativity, it’ll all be worth it.”
