The phrase “starving artist” has a double-meaning for the Maine Coast Stone Symposium.

The participating sculptors are traveling to Maine from across the state and even from Japan. Many are staying with local families and enjoying their hospitality during the overnight hours. They will be working physically hard each day, carving one of the hardest materials on earth. By lunchtime they will need to relax and refuel.

There’s not a better way to say “welcome” than to treat someone to a homemade meal. The sculptors would like to meet and interact with as many new friends as possible. We hope that some might consider making a simple homemade lunch for 15 hardworking artists and coming to share the meal with them at noontime on a selected date. Imagine being their guest of honor and helping support their creative process. To sign up to provide a lunch on your choice of date between August 11-21, please call Margaret at 633-4727 or email margaret@railwayvillage.org.We’ve heard that at the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium some of the favorite meals were shared with and prepared by a group of ladies from a church in Blue Hill.

Culturally, we’ve become accustomed to the idea of a “starving artist” and indeed some of the sculptors coming to the Symposium have met with great critical acclaim but still work in other fields to make a living wage. The sculptures created during the Maine Coast Stone Symposium will all be for sale. The Artist’s Committee hopes that some of the MCSS works will be purchased for private collections. Additional small works with prices starting at $900 by Mark Herrington, Dick Alden, David Curry, William Jacobs, Andreas von Huene and Isabel Kelley will also be exhibited and for sale from the 11th to the 21st inside a pop-up gallery. A purchase during MCSS will directly support the participating artists.

A feast for all your senses

On the final night of the artists’ residencies there will be a Gala to celebrate their work. Guest will be among the first to see the completed works and have the opportunity to visit with the artists in person. This elegant evening will be catered by Stone Cove Catering with passed hors d’oeuvres highlighting Maine products including local lobster and crab, Bristol Creamery cheese, Ducktrap Farms smoked salmon, and Pineland Farms steak. The Gala also features cocktails made with Split Rock Distillery spirits, Boothbay Craft Brewery beers, and an oyster bar featuring Glidden Point Oysters. Live music will be provided by Barney Balch and his band, Novel Jazz. The winners of the Don Justin Meserve sculpture raffle will also be drawn during the celebration. Tickets are $75 each and can be reserved online at railwayvillage.org/stonesymposium or by phone 207-633-4727.

The Maine Coast Stone Symposium is funded in part by an Arts & Humanities Grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Maine Humanities Council. It is made possible through the additional support of J.C. Stone, Knickerbocker Group, Maine Media Collective, Marshall Tent & Event Rental, Trow & Holden Company, Swenson Granite Works, Kennebec Equipment Rental, Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium, Split Rock Distillery, Glidden Point Oysters, Stone Cove Catering, Boothbay Craft Brewery and LARK Studios.

The exhibit, Built with Stone, is open daily through Aug. 31. The exhibit, the sculpture symposium with artists working and any scheduled demonstrations are free with regular Museum admission of $12 adults, $10 seniors, $6 children 3 – 18, children under 3 and Museum Members are free. The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. For details about any of the programs that make up the Maine Coast Stone Symposium visit www.railwayvillage.org or call 207-633-4727.