Telling Your Heroine's Story Writing Contest: Honorable Mention kdbDominguez

 Could You Do It?

Could you leave the familiar behind and choose to live on the very edge of the natural world you love — on that fragile, ever-shifting boundary between land and sea — in a 600-square-foot home near Popham Beach? Could you stay through a bitter Maine winter, bearing witness to what is happening to a coastline you cherish? 

In 2014, kdb Dominguez did exactly that. 

What began as a bold creative leap became a profound act of devotion: to beauty, to the Maine coast, and to telling the truth about a vanishing world. Since then, through her Wilderland Project, kdb has documented the changing face of Maine’s shoreline with extraordinary photographs, paintings, and words. Her recent reflections on the disappearing beach at Popham are both heartbreaking and beautiful. Her work helps us see not only what is being lost, but also what is worth loving, protecting, and remembering. 

We are eagerly awaiting the publication of her books — Love Notes from Nature and The Habitat Book — both fruits of the Wilderland Project. 

Her winning piece, “How the Wilderland Brought Me Back to Me,” is a story of creative courage, deep listening, and the way one leap can lead to another.

Meet kdb Dominguez

How the Wilderland Brought Me Back to Me.

“Follow your Bliss”. Joseph Campbell suggests this as a way to lead a happy life.

Happiness in our own lives can lead us to places we never knew existed. In the spring of 2014, I was 54 and happy enough. I was enjoying an interesting life without the responsibilities of family or a relationship. This is a rare moment for anyone. I seized this as an opportunity to do something important, creative, interesting and fun.

I had spent the winter of my epiphany being quiet, exploring nature, photographing and creating art. One morning in early spring, I was reading an article from The Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and the news was shocking to me. Our Gulf of Maine was heating up 99% faster than any other body of water in the world. They hypothesized that this would lead to sea level rise. For me, the confluence of art, photography, life, science and big changes came together in that very moment.

I asked myself, what if I took a full year and explored the Kennebec River Watershed from Popham Beach up to the Merrymeeting Bay? I decided to do a visual narrative, telling the story of sea-level rise and a changing coastline with photos and paintings. The idea of the WilderlandMaine Project had captured my imagination, and the thought of doing something important with the natural world for future generations had captured my heart. I decided the first day in Autumn is the first day of my new life! I packed up my things, put them in storage, and moved into my 600 sq. ft “basecamp” near Popham Beach. The work was methodical, going out most every day that first year, regardless of the weather. My camera recording what was happening, then back into my studio, sorting, posting and making sense of each day's work.

During that first year of the project, I was living on my small retirement stipend. It covered everything if I did not eat 3 meals a day! I had good luck that first year, my car behaved, and I had no health problems. But another year of living so close to the edge just wouldn’t work, tempting fate. I rented a studio/house in Bath and continued my project, going out many times a week and always for sunset or sunrise. and started some freelance design work. I also received several large commissions from my Art Patrons. I was working on my body of work, Images, paintings and illustrations. In 2018, The WilderlandMaine Project was featured in Downeast Magazine. 6 pages, glossy images. I was honored, humbled and over the moon. I knew I had not finished my study and had grown used to my daily commune with the natural world. The wind, sun, moon and clouds, not to mention snow, ice, fog and so many biting bugs in sticky heat. I would not trade a moment of this wild adventure that brought me back to me. 

In my daily walks, I discovered and studied the habitats of nature. I liken them to the systems in our bodies, which work together as a team to create harmony and good health. The more I realized how it worked, gave me a visceral pull to do the work of introducing habitat gardens to folks who want to live in harmony with nature for the planet and themselves. (This is a leap within a leap story) In 2017, I did a Wild Garden at The Center for Peace and Community. One garden led to another. I now have a thriving Rewild Garden business and am leaving habitats in my wake. I am grateful that I trusted the process and created my path to get to exactly where I am today. A happy girl, with paint or soil under my nails. Life is bliss, I chose joy, and that made all the difference. 

PS: I am working on my WilderlandMaine Project Book and have finished the first section, “Love notes from Nature”. I am hoping to finish the book in its entirety by Spring 2026.