enlarge Suzi Piker/Staff Writer

Songul Telek of Turkey, one of the six artists participating in the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium in Winter Harbor, works on her piece.

enlarge Suzi Piker/Staff Writer

Mark Herrington is at work on his sculpture, which will be installed in his hometown of Franklin. Herrington, the lone American in the group, is gratified by the financial support provided for his project by his fellow townspeople.

enlarge Suzi Piker/Staff Writer

Jhon Gogaberishvili, from the Republic of Georgia, grinds away at his sculpture, which he is calling “The Islands of Maine.”

IF YOU GO

SCHOODIC INTERNATIONAL SCULPTURE SYMPOSIUM

WHERE: Schoodic Education and Research Center, Acadia National Park section of Schoodic Point

WHEN: Through Sept. 12. Closing ceremonies begin at 1 p.m. Sept. 12.

INFORMATION: www.schoodicsculpture.org

EVENTS: 6 p.m. today, Winter Harbor will dedicate its sculpture from the 2007 symposium, "Cleat," by Don Justin Meserve. The dedication will be preceded at 4:30 p.m. with a reception at the Littlefield Gallery, 145 Main St., Winter Harbor.

• At 7 p.m. today, Richard Kane's documentary "Rock Solid," filmed at the symposium in 2007, will be shown at Hammond Hall, 427 Main St., Winter Harbor, by Schoodic Arts for All.

SCHOODIC POINT — As the sun's first rays tickle the roof of the Schoodic Education and Research Center, a burly man with a big beard gets a head start on the day.

Jhon Gogaberishvili – his friends call him John – is up before dawn, eager to not waste a moment.

Looking a little like Paul Bunyan with a respirator, he stands on a large block of black basalt, eyeballing the rock for a moment before bending over and making a line with a red marker. He hops down, shoulders a piece of power equipment, and begins ripping rock.

Whatever silence the crows have left behind in the trees that ring the research center's parking lot, Gogaberishvili has shattered it. He fills the hot morning air with a grinding, mechanical whine.

"This place," he says in a quiet moment, as his grown daughter, Nana, does her best to translate, "is so beautiful. It inspires him, and makes him want to create."

Gogaberishvili lives and works in Tbilsi, in the Republic of Georgia. This is his first trip to Maine and the second to the United States. For Nana, it's her first time in this country.

They are here for the 2009 Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium. Gogaberishvili was among six winners selected to participate in this year's symposium, among 110 applicants from 38 countries.

When they complete their work a little less than three weeks from now, the sculptors will have left six pieces of monumental, permanent public art in communities throughout Washington and Hancock counties, from Bar Harbor to Machias.

This year's addition joins seven created in 2007 at the first symposium, giving this remote neck of Maine's Down East coast a collection of 13 contemporary granite and basalt sculptures, and a promise for more.

This summer's symposium is the second of five biennial events that organizers hope to host. If completed as envisioned in another six years, the symposium will have delivered 31 sculptures over a decade.

This year's sculptors will work to complete their pieces through Sept. 12, when the symposium formally closes. In the fall, the finished pieces will be placed in communities across the region.

The seven sculptures placed in the first round of the symposium have become quick fixtures in their communities and celebrated as focal points. In Winter Harbor, just up the road from Schoodic Point, the town will dedicate its piece, "Cleat," by Don Justin Meserve at 6 tonight.

Gogaberishvili calls his piece "The Islands of Maine." It will be placed at the University of Maine at Machias, on a visible piece of property with full public access. The university, the town of Machias and the Machias Chamber of Commerce raised the sponsoring fee.

Other towns receiving sculptures this year are Gouldsboro, Franklin, Lamoine, Bar Harbor and Deer Isle.

The sculptors have been here since late July. They were chosen through a competitive, juried process to come to Maine for the summer to work on rock unique to this geological region. All the rock comes from local quarries.

During the day, the artists spend time chipping, grinding, pounding, sanding and polishing their stone outdoors under the elements, and sometimes under tents, at the Schoodic Education and Research Center. They work most days except Monday.

The symposium is free and open to the public, and it's not unusual for several onlookers to stroll through at any time.

Phil Lawrence, a summer resident of Sorrento, stops by every few days with his dog.

"I just love it. I came last time, and I think it's wonderful they have this along the coast. The towns all chip in, so there's a real sense of community," Lawrence said.

At day's end, the sculptors, covered in dust and grit, sit around picnic tables and talk about their work. Some smoke cigarettes, others pass around cans of beer. They live together at the research center, sharing meals and late-night...