C.V.SmithARTWORKS - Meanderings of a Maine Artist... sculptor Cynthia Smith

Art in Maine ... Saltwater Artists Gallery 2026

6/17/2026

The open sign is up!

Saltwater Artists Gallery is open for the season! Display areas are hung and arranged. Eight new artist members have joined this us this year (two photographers, wood carver, a Zentangle artist, a pastel artist, and three painters), all very enthusiastic about their first season with the gallery. In addition to showing our 27 member artists, we have a busy season ahead that offers a number of new workshops, shows and events. We kicked off the season with our 2nd annual student art show, featuring the artwork of the talented young artists from Lincoln Academy. We will be having two juried shows this season, "Ropes, Rigging & Reflections" will honor Maine's time honored fishing industry, followed by "Wildflowers", a 12x12 show highlighting the variety and vibrancy of Mother Nature's flora. We also are excited to be

hosting our 4th annual "Paint the Point" plein air day on Pemaquid Point. Our upcoming workshops include experiences in silk scarf dyeing, origami paper folding, basic wood carving, rug hooking, and the art of Zentangle. Something for everyone! Check in on the Saltwater Artists Gallery Facebook page for updates and go to saltwaterartists.com to register and get additional information on our workshops and events.

My display area

Nutz n' Boltz ... Out of the Mold and onto a Board

5/7/2026

As I prepare for the upcoming show season at Saltwater, I continue to unearth "projects in waiting" from the various dark corners of my studio work area. Some time ago I made several resin castings from a silicone rubber mold. The mold had been made from an arrangement of miscellaneous nuts, bolts, and washers that I imbedded in a slab of "Klean Klay" (a sulfur free clay). If you are interested in the process that was used to create these castings, go to my July 6, 2018 blog posting. The first project that I utilized one of these castings in was a sculpture titled "Peace of Mind", and you can read about how I used the casting in that piece in my January 6, 2019 blog posting.

Original

Silicone rubber mold & white resin casting

Mounting pegs

Reverse of Black Walnut

For the upcoming season at the gallery, I decided to use another one of the hardware resin castings to create a new piece. I wanted the casting to be the central focus of the piece without the distraction of extraneous "bells & whistles", so I opted to simply mount it on a wooden backboard. I used a piece of black walnut that would provide a good contrasting color backdrop for the white casting. I also raised the casting slightly off the surface of the board using short wooden dowel pegs that set into corresponding holes drilled into the backboard. The resin casting itself measures 5.5" x 7.25" and the black walnut backing board measures 7.5 " x 10". I was happy with the result, but suspect I will find new ways to use my remaining 2 castings in the future - stay tuned!

"Nutz n' Boltz" ... mounted

"Secret Garden" ... Rediscovered and Repurposed

4/22/2026

Enameled copper dish

While still in the process of trying to organize and thin out my substantial accumulation of "projects to finish at a future date" I came across an enameled copper pate that I made some time ago. It occurred to me that I might be able to use one of the extra wooden appetizer dishes (found while trying to find a good fit for "Lunar Eclipse", the piece described in my last blog post) as a backing vehicle for the enameled dish. This appetizer dish is about 10" in diameter and the enameled dish is just over 6" in diameter - aother perfect fit.

Wooden appetizer dish - front

Appetizer dish - back

Center area shaped wooden filler

I had to an add a shaped wooden filler to the concave center of the dish to create a flat surface where I could adhere the enameled dish. Before epoxying the enameled dish to the center section I added eye hooks and hanger wire on the back, along with a small wooden strip with felt bumpers to make sure the piece would hang parallel to the wall. Final step was to epoxy the enameled dish to the center section - finished and ready to hang!

Hanger wire & wooden buffer added

"Secret Garden" ...epoxied in place, ready to hang

"Lunar Eclipse" ... Over the Mooon

4/10/2026

A number of years ago I created a relief sculpture that featured a bronze cow, a bronze relief "moon face", and a small wooden "earth" (made from a wooden drawer pull) all mounted on a 12" hand-turned wooden appetizer dish. Unfortunately the sculpture was damaged when being transported.The box containing the piece was too close to the car's rear hatch when it was closed and a portion of the wooden backing dish was broken off. It was unrerpairable.
Finally this winter I found to find a suitable replacement for the broken dish. It happened to be a similar appetizer dish made by the same company as the original dish (Woodbury's Woodware in Shelburne, Vermont). The only difference was that the original had a concave center section and the replacement dish had a flat section covered by a ceramic tile. After removing the tile and adding a 1/4" thick piece of wood to replace the tile, I was able to drill holes to accommodate the threaded rods that would hold the moon to the dish. The next step was to drill a hole for the cow attachment rod and a shallow hole so that the earth could be glued into place. Last step before final assembly was to add the hanging wire on the back, along with a wooden "pad" that would allow the piece to hang flat on the wall.

Bronze moon - 2 views

Bronze cow & wooden earth - 2 views

Wooden server - 2 views

Finally - "Lunar Eclipse" was resurrected and ready to be hung at the gallery for the 2026 season. Saltwater Artists Gallery will be opening on Friday, May 22 and I look forward to seeing my flying bovine hanging on the wall in my display area. One giant leap for artist-kind!

Impressions ... Fish Reliefs in Plaster

3/24/2026

While I was still in "fish mode" ("fishy mood" ?) I decided to create some new plaster fish reliefs. I have been doing these for a number of years and they have been well received by our visitors at Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor.
I am still using the 2 wooden fish that I carved to make my first plaster fish reliefs. The process involves pressing these fish "stamps" into a slab of clay in an interesting pattern that creates a good composition. Often, as I did with these 2

Carved wooden fish "stamps"

newest casts, I include some sort of sea "flora" to add depth and interest to the composition. After trimming the impressed clay slab to size, I enclose it in a wooden box frame and pour in a layer of casting plaster to a depth of about 1/2" . Once the casting has been removed, dried and cleaned up, I paint it with graphite gray acrylic paint. The relief surface is then rubbed with a soft paper towel to bring out the metallic quality of the paint. Finally, the relief is double- matted and framed.

Plaster casting 6 1/4" x 6 1/4"

Plaster casting 6 1/2" x 9 1/2"

I have found I enjoy the challenge of arranging the fish in these relatively small spaces - adjusting the number of fish and each fish's position in relation to the others that I have included, creating the impression of a dialogue or story in this moment in time "under water". The smallest change of angle or spatial relationship can alter the viewers visual interpretation of the image. As I have often said before, I do enjoy a challenge. On to the next!

"Passing the Word" 10" x 10" framed

"Impromptu Congregation" 10"x13" framed

"Drifter" - A Fish Story ... Bronze on Bamboo

2/14/2026

Have been busy getting some new pieces finished for the upcoming show season at Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor. As has been my habit of late, I pulled out a few items that I had stashed away for use at a future date. Turned out that now was the 'future date' for a bronze fish ( an unused "extra" from an earlier bronze piece), 2 small pieces of driftwood, and the backing of a dismembered bamboo knife rack.
First I had to determine where I would place the driftwood on the bamboo and then the fish on top of the driftwood. Next I tackled the challenge of how I would attach these elements to the bamboo backing. I started by adding small wooden pegs on the bottom side of each piece of driftwood that would eventually be inserted into corresponding holes in the bamboo. I then added a short length of threaded rod to the back of the fish and drilled a hole through the section of driftwood where the fish was going to be positioned (and through the bamboo beneath).

...last of the bronze fish

...small driftwood pieces

...bamboo knife rack backing

... drilled and pegged driftwood

...creating Wenge fish

Additional elements would be needed to enhance and complete this relief composition, and I decided on making several smaller fish that would be "swimming" in the opposite direction. I cut out and shaped 4 much smaller fish (about 3 1/2" long) from a 3/16" thick strip of Wenge wood. The dark color of the smaller fish created a great contrast to the light color of the bamboo, the bronze fish, and the driftwood. Before attaching the relief elements, I added hanging wire & eyelets on the backside, and a wooden "bumper" along the lower strip of bamboo to help the piece hang flat against the wall.

...backing holes drilled & Wenge fish attached

...driftwood attached

I started the final assembly by gluing the 4 smaller fish to the bamboo and, once they were secure, I glued the 2 driftwood pieces into position. The last step was to place the bronze fish into place with its threaded rod through the driftwood and bamboo, then tighten the nut and washer. Voila! The piece was complete! On to the next...

" Drifter" - completed (14" x 5 1/2" x 3/4")

Croquet Anyone? ... Sculptural "Simplicity" in Wood

7/12/2025

As I have continued to try to explore and organize the myriad of "must save" treasures squirreled away in my studio, I again came across some items that I thought "belonged together"....two antique croquet balls and the other half of a wooden bowl blank remnant that I used in a much earlier piece (see my blog post for 9-28-13). I envisioned the 2 wooden spheres suspended over the center of the inverted arch of the blank. In order to execute my vision I was going to have to refine & refinish the eventual wooden base for the sculpture and then determine how I would suspend the spheres over the inverted wooden arch.
The bowl blank remnant is made of cherry wood and has a strip of maple and Padauk halfway up on

Bowl blank remnant trimmed & sanded

Holes drilled & mahogany board glued & screwed

Croquet balls' bottoms sanded & centers drilled

each end. My first task was to remove the uneven ends of the various glued sections and the glue residue so that all of its sides were flat, and then I thoroughly sanded all surfaces. I decided to use a 1/2" oak wooden dowel to support the wooden spheres. This meant that I had to drill holes at the same height through both vertical ends of the arch (a challenge!). In order to strengthen the thinnest part of the arch I attached a 1/2" thick 5"x15 /34" mahogany board to bottom of the the base. The next step was to drill holes in the spheres so that I could

Assembled with dowel & coated with butcher's wax

eventually be able to thread the wooden dowel through their centers. First I had to sand one end of each sphere so that I could center the drilled holes and the balls could be lined up together more accurately. After gluing the two balls together, I re-drilled the holes and checked to make sure that the dowel would pass through both smoothly. The final step was to position and glue the 2 spheres at the center of the rod, glue the rod in place over the arch, and finish the piece with a coat to liquid butchers wax. Very happy with the result. As I envisioned it!

"Simplicity"

Saltwater Artists Gallery ... Open for the 2025 Season

5/23/2025

I've transported my artwork to our gallery in New Harbor and arranged my display area. I alway try to bring a variety of pieces, both in-the-round and in relief, in different mediums ... bronze, stone, wood, plaster and mixed media.
The start of the 2025 season at Saltwater is finally here. We've had our pre-season clean-up day and member meeting, and all of our gallery members have set up their display areas. Saltwater's membership creates artwork done utilizing a broad spectrum of mediums and techniques including oil, acrylic, watercolor, and encaustic painting, mosaics, fiber arts, photography, sculpture, glass art and stained glass, woodturning, and jewelry.
The gallery will be open Friday to Monday (10am-5pm) from May 23rd through June 9th,

and then, starting June 13th we will be open 7 days a week until the end of the season on Friday, October 17th. Saltwater has undergone some major transformations over the off-season that we hope will give our visitors an enhanced viewing experience. We have also added a number of special events to in addition to our annual Plein Air Day on Pemaquid Point. For more event information go to www.saltwaterartists.com and check out our "2025 Calendar" section. Hope to see you!

My display area set-up for the 2025 season

Relief in Wood ... "What the Moon Said"

5/15/2025

I finished up another relief that I will be hanging for the upcoming show season at Saltwater Artists Gallery. As I prowled through a myriad of long neglected boxes and containers of "mystery contents" in an effort to free up some needed room in my studio work space I came across a raised wooden disc that I carved (as a "moon face") in preparation for a bronze sandcasting class a number of years ago. That discovery brought to mind an interesting piece of wood that I also had put aside "for a rainy day". It was comprised of a series 8 narrow strips of wood that had been glued together to form one plank, with two strips of yellowheart flanking 6 strips of padauk.

Shaped pine disc

Yellowheart & Padauk wood backboard

Arrangement with wooden door pulls

I began by playing with possible placements of the "moon face", settling on having it at the top of the plank with left and right edges hanging about 3/4" over the edges of the plank and the top curve just barely over the top edge of the plank. In the space below the moon I then made an arrangement of 3 wooden door pulls in an arc. Before doing finishwork on each individual parts, I made narrow strip of padauk that I could put across the back of the plank to give me more depth to add eyelet hangers as the plank itself was only about 1/4" thick. I also made a smaller piece of pad auk to put at the lower part of the back of the flank to make sure the piece would hang evenly.
After sanding all of the parts and coating them with liquid butchers wax (my new favorite finish!), I proceeded to assemble the piece.The final piece measures 8 1/2" in width, 12 3/4" tall, and 2" deep. I titled this piece "What the Moon Said"...interpretations, as always, are up to the viewer!

Back side

"What the Moon Said" - front side

New Relief Artwork ... Saltwater Artists Gallery '25

5/1/2025

I have been busy finishing off several relief pieces that I will be showing at Saltwater Artists Gallery in New Harbor this summer. One of them is a wood relief that I began quite some time ago and never got around to finishing. I needed to do some clean-up of details and sanding of the surfaces. After sealing the piece with Butcher's Wax, I added a frame with walnut strips. Pleased with the outcome.
I also completed 2 additional plaster reliefs using the same casting technique that I have used in the past. One is the smaller size that I put in a 10" x 10" frame and the other is larger and is in a 9" x 13" frame. If you are interested in the plaster relief process that I used to create

"Stalwart Friend" wood relief 11 3/4" x 12 3/4" x 1 3/4"

these pieces you can read about it in several of my past blog posts - 8/10/15, 8/26/16, and 8/25/20. It has been an interesting challenge over the years to create new compositions in a relatively small space - varying the number and positioning of the fish as well as the addition (or not) of the vegetation. But then - I have always enjoyed a challenge!

"Wandering in Certitude"

"Shoal Searchers"