University of Maine marine scientist Bob Steneck will join Port Clyde lobsterman Gerry Cushman and artist Nancy Selvin at 5:30 p.m. Friday, July 7, at St. Patrick’s Church, 380 Academy Hill Road, in Newcastle. They will view images of artist Paula Winokur’s towering installations inspired by Greenland’s icebergs, and discuss how melting polar ice impacts the Gulf of Maine, according to a news release from Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts.

Julie Burstein, a nationally recognized radio producer and writer, will facilitate the discussions.

This is the first in a series of public conversations that bring together ceramic art masters, scientists and Mainers working in natural resource-based industries to examine intersections between art and contemporary environmental issues.

The series, Elemental Intersections, is organized by the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, in partnership with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the Maine Sea Grant Program. Funding is provided, in part, through a Creativity Connects grant from the National Endowment on the Arts.

“Elemental Intersections enables us to recognize the innovations and contributions of three master artists to the field of ceramics — Wayne Higby, Jack Troy and Paula Winokur — and explore how their work relates to the natural world,” said Fran Rudoff, Watershed executive director, according to the release.

“Art and science both arise from human creativity, and have inspired each other throughout history,” said Esperanza Stancioff, UMaine Extension/Maine Sea Grant climate change educator, according to the release.

“Many scientists are influenced by artists; many artists create, interpret and react to scientific knowledge. In my work with coastal communities, as in Paula’s work, I see the power of images, sculptures and paintings to evoke and impress upon us how our climate is changing.”

The event is free and open to the public. St. Patrick’s Church is a fully accessible venue. Sign language interpretation will be available; contact Watershed at 882-6075. For more information, visit WatershedCeramics.org/elements.

The second conversation, featuring master wood fire potter Jack Troy, forest ecologist Nick Fisichelli and Maine Guide Polly Mahoney, will be Friday, Aug. 25, at St. Patrick’s Church.

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