Name: Yellow Birch Farm
Greene-Ziner Gallery
Address: Melissa Greene & Eric Ziner
73 Reach Road
Deer Isle, Maine 04627
Phone: 207-348-2601
Farm Website: www.yellowbirchfarm.com
Gallery Website:
Facebook:
Yellow Birch Farm Facebook Page
Email:
Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
or by appointment
Products & Services:
-MOFGA certified organic vegetables
-farm dinners
-all-natural GMO-free goat cheeses
-Greek-style goat milk yogurt
-dairy products
-cajeta - goat-milk caramel
- “About Face” skin cream
-local baked goods, organic meats, berries
-goat milk soaps
-gift baskets
-farmers markets
-painted earthenware pottery and utilitarian,
soda-fired stoneware of Melissa Greene
-forged and fabricated iron work and
sculptures of Eric Ziner
What Makes Yellow Birch Farm and the Greene-Ziner Gallery Unique?
Most individuals who choose to pursue farming develop strong ties with the land and their natural surroundings. Individuals who are gifted with artistic abilities often possess special instincts and heightened levels of creativity and expression. Since Melissa Greene and Eric Ziner of Yellow Birch Farm and Greene-Ziner Gallery have consciously chosen to combine the world of farming and the pursuit of art, their lives seem to be exceptionally full and productive.
Over the years, Melissa and Eric have established a highly-successful diversified family farm, and at the same time, they both have also excelled in their respective artistic fields. Melissa is a ceramic artist who creates painted earthenware pottery and utilitarian, soda-fired stoneware. Eric is an artist blacksmith who is known for his forged and fabricated ironwork and sculptures.
In addition to the large selection of MOFGA-certified organic vegetables that are grown at Yellow Birch Farm, goats and chickens are being raised. Their herd of Alpine, Saanen, and Oberhasli goats provide the farm with goat milk that is used in the production of various types of cheeses including fresh chevre, feta, and some bloomy rind cheeses. Some aged cheeses are also in the works for future sales. The goat milk is also utilized to produce Greek Style Goat Milk Yogurt.
Have you ever heard of cajeta? It is a caramel which is highly prized in many cultures such as in Mexico and France. Yellow Birch Farm has established quite a niche in the cajeta market in Maine. They sell individual ten-ounce jars, as well as hand made cajeta gift boxes with the Yellow Birch Farm logo.
Another gift basket offered by Yellow Birch Farm is a handmade palm basket with three goat milk soaps and a small jar of “About Face” cream. Melissa and Eric produce ten varieties of goat milk soaps that include various ingredients such as balsam, cedar, juniper, lemon chamomile, honey oatmeal, lavender, rosa rugosa, sea salt, seaweed, orange calendula, blueberry seeds, and birchbark, pumice, pink clay, yarrow mint, and cornmeal. The “About Face” cream that is being sold at the farm and in various locations, as well as online, is a totally organic cream that comes unscented, or with rose or orange scents.
The cajeta, goat milk soaps, and “About Face” cream are also available at the Farm Stand at the Yellow Birch Farm. The Farm Stand is open on Tuesdays through Saturdays from April through December. In addition to the certified organic vegetables sold at the Farm Stand, baked goods, organic meats, and blueberries from local producers are sold.
Yellow Birch Farm has formed quite a few collaborations in the local area. They participate in the Stonington Farmers’ Market and the Bar Harbor Eden Farmers’ Market in the summer months. During the winter you will find them at Seascape market in Deer Isle on Saturdays and at the Seamarket in Deer Isle on Fridays. Their products are also carried at the Blue Hill Community Co-op.
To promote organic food and art, Melissa and Eric host “Food and Craft” farm dinners periodically in their gallery on the farm. One of their friends, who is a renown chef, prepares the meal and the Greene-Ziner family and their interns help with the hosting and serving responsibilities.
The gallery, where the community dinners take place, is magnificent. It is housed in an 1820’s post and beam barn. The rustic feel of the old wooden structure provides an excellent backdrop for Melissa Greene’s spectacular painted ceramic creations. She has mastered painting remarkably realistic depictions of various birds and animals and images relating to various world cultures on the vessels. She also offers a line of utilitarian stoneware. The multi-faceted talents of Eric Ziner are also on display in the gallery. While some of his iron work creations, such as the trout table, are stunningly beautiful with their realistic and intricate detail, he also offers some whimsical pieces. The work of Eric’s father, Zeke Ziner, and his brother, Joe Ziner, and the books written by his mother, Feenie Ziner, are also displayed. At times, Sara Hotchkiss’s handwovern rugs, Ralph Frata’s concrete wall structures, and Hattie Barker’s crocheted garments can be purchased in the gallery.
If an individual took the time to read the biographies of Melissa and Eric in regard to
where there art has been sold and displayed
and the various commissions that they have
received, it would become immediately
obvious that they are highly-respected and
extremely-accomplished artists. When Unique Maine Farms visited the Yellow Birch Farm this past August, Eric was working with a load of compost and Melissa was tending the goats. They were working hard as so many Maine farmers do. Melissa casually mentioned that there was a gallery in the barn and it was open for anyone to explore.
After thoroughly enjoying all the clay and
iron creations in the gallery, checking out the two studios, observing the gardens and the animals, visiting the spotless licensed kitchen, and admiring the cajeta and the dairy goat soaps and organic vegetables in their farm stand, it was immediately apparent that Melissa and Eric have successfully managed to straddle two worlds. Their combined love of their land and their animals and their passion for clay and iron have truly set them apart. While their diverse farming efforts are feeding many appetites, their highly-creative artistic efforts are proving to be excellent food for the minds and souls of many individuals.
