BELFAST — July 13 and 14 marked the 18th annual Arts in the Park event in Belfast, where roughly 80 artists gathered by the waterfront to share their unique artwork with the public. Both days of the two-day event were heavy in heat and humidity, but the mood remained light and cheerful. While music played visitors wandered the lines of tents, others swam in the bay to cool off.

Some of this year's artists included:

Chris Maseychik and his metal sculptures, which are created with scrap metal. Maseychik, who is based in Northport, said he gets the metal from all over; some even donated to him, and then welds the pieces together to create one-of-a-kind sculptures.

Teresa Mowery, who grew up in Brunswick, began her artistic career as a painter, eventually attending Maine College of Art. When Mowery first began working with patina – a form of artistic metal work where a sheet of metal is manipulated using salts and acid – she worked mainly creating jewelry before eventually branching out into art.

Scott Perry uses a special panoramic camera to capture images of Maine, New Hampshire and beyond. He is currently based out of Farmington.

Kathleen Maseychik takes fibers from her own animals, which include sheep, alpaca and an angora goat, to spin yarn. Maseychik's company, The Mouse Hole Workshop, sells both yarn and knit items and features all-natural colors.

Kathy Pollard, who is based out of Orono, uses her Cherokee heritage as inspiration to weave sweet grass and birch bark into baskets and other decorative pieces. "Every piece tells a story," she said.

Kathleen Perelka said she uses anywhere from four to 20 layers of soft pastels to create her art, which is inspired by photographs of Maine landscapes that she takes. She said that while the photographs serve as inspiration, she relies on memory to accurately convey the "feeling" of a place.

Kate McLeod creates unique hand-cast plaster mirrors and decorative items.

Yard Garb, run by Jim and Holly Galante, uses reclaimed metal to create one-of-a-kind art pieces for yards around the country. Holly said the business began when she told her husband, Jim, that she wanted "something for [our] yard, and it just expanded from there."

Rose Whitehead's company Fiber Fabrications creates clothing and accessories crafted from the fibers of local animals. Whitehead creates angora pieces using the fur from her own rabbits, but also visits farms to help sheer fleeces from other animals for the hair she utilizes.

Rosemarie DiLernia learned knots from her father, who served in the U.S. Navy, picking it up as a hobby before eventually turning professional. DiLernia uses knots to create unique jewelry and watch bands. She also won this year's Artist of the Year award.

Jodi Clayton, of One Lupine, hand dyes the wool she uses in her studio in Bangor. Clayton specializes in Maine fibers and says that all of her products are tied in some way to at least one other local business. One Woman Studio, run by Julia Ventresco, uses recycled materials, many donated from farms, to create handbags and other accessories.

Julie A. Schroeppel, of Distinctive Dichroic Glass Designs, creates her own dichroic glass, which she then uses to create jewelry and decorative items. To make the dichroic glass Schroeppel cuts and shapes pieces of glass before placing them in a kiln to fuse.

Mark Guido, of Maine Rustic Arts, who was a mason by trade, working with stone and brick, began his artistic foray by creating chairs out of twigs and other natural pieces that inspired him. Eventually, while walking on different beaches, he began to notice inspiring shapes in the rocks and decided to start using rocks to create sculptures.

Lily Rose, of In the Shade Birdhouses, was inspired to create her one-of-a-kind birdhouses through her love of collecting. She uses all natural "found" items to create her birdhouses.

Ron Cowan, a creator of intricate facial sculptures using trees, hadn't always planned to be an artist – in fact, he says, he wanted to be a businessman. Eventually he said, he found himself living in Manhattan and miserable. When friends offered to let him stay in their farmhouse over the winter he began making sculptures with driftwood, eventually relocating to Connecticut to become an arborist. His very first tree sculpture was featured in the film The Man Without a Face, and after that, he said, "I was hooked."

To reach Erica Thoms, email news@penbaypilot.com.