By David Harry
Staff Writer

T. J. Michaud does not make a living in a straightforward fashion.
The creations he makes as part of his “Mystical Mazes” show that while he can draw a very straight line, he does not like a clear path to anything.
Michaud, of Topsham, was one of about 40 crafters displaying and selling his work at the Home for the Holidays Craft Show held last weekend at Scarborough High School.
The show, sponsored by the Society of Southern Maine Craftsman, was a chance for artists and crafters to display and sell jewelry, photography, woodworking and food to customers seeking homemade gift ideas.
The show filled the cafeteria and gym at the high school, but results were mixed on how it filled the wallets of craftsmen, said Joanne Kenyon of Stone Soup Artisans, a Saco-based store also sponsored by the society.
“We are seeing a little rebound, people were reluctant to spend last year,” she said.
The crafters at show could be retired teachers such as Harley Colwell, who now makes wooden games and puzzles, or Michaud, who works in a paper mill and owns a landscaping business.
On one side of the gym, Gary Swinton of Durham sold his photography while his wife, Nancy, sold her woodworking and woolen goods next door.
“When I can’t make sawdust, I am knitting,” said Nancy Swinton, who also teaches.
Swinton said her woolen goods sold well last year. As the economy worsened, her customers wanted practical gifts such as the mittens and hats she makes. At the same time, she found sales of her wooden Christmas tree ornaments improved.
Colwell, who lives in Windsor, said he is a member of several crafting societies and his sales have slumped this year.
He said he stresses value and ingenuity with the handcrafted games and puzzles that also make good socking stuffers.
Two of his games involving opening a box and removing a lid have never been solved he said. As he talked, customers of all ages stopped to try and fit wooden cylinders into a box or stack six nails on top of one in a wooden frame and lift them together.
“You must have broken it,” Colwell teased Heather Kelly of Limington as she tried to open a container holding a penny.
Kenyon said the craft society does not keep sales records of its members, but said the holiday show seems to attract a different kind of consumer than those who might rush to stores for post-Thanksgiving sales. Craft society members are chosen after other members review their work, Kenyon said, and an emphasis on quality and creativity is sought.
Michaud began making mazes as large as 2-by-3 feet after his daughter brought one home from school and he thought he could do better.
He said he works with a graphic artist, and also has created smaller books of mazes. He directs users to his Web site for clues to work through a maze involving wizards.
“The ideas are endless, it is just taking the time to make them,” said Michaud of his mazes, which take five or six months to create.
Colwell, Nancy Swinton and Michaud said even if economic rewards are not always abundant, the work has rewards of its own.
“When kids see this for the first time, their eyes light up,” Michaud said.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219