Look! Out on the water! It’s a boat, it’s a buoy, it’s … a sculpture?

As part of the annual LandEscapes project, 15 “Water Marks” will set sail this weekend on Mount Desert Island’s waterways. Created by nationally known artists, local sculptors, even a group of schoolchildren, the sculptures will make MDI’s ocean and lake views even more picturesque.

“This is a way to bring arts into the community,” Sam Shaw, a Northeast Harbor jeweler and one of the project’s coordinators, said.

LandEscapes was established five years ago by MDI summer resident Nancy Manter. In its previous incarnations, it included a scarecrow exhibit at College of the Atlantic, and last summer, LandEscapes featured installations and a visit from renowned actress Jane Alexander. This year, the focus shifts to the water and the way art and science coexist.

“We’re really interested in having some dialogue and interaction with other people and really [moving] outside of this art domain,” Manter said.

To that end, a series of workshops in art, literature and science will take place around the island from July 28 to 31 as part of LandEscapes. A group of artists will take up residence for the week at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Salisbury Cove. Novelist Roxanna Robinson will read from her recent book, “Sweetwater,” as part of the closing ceremony on Aug. 1, and psychiatrist Joseph Silvio will lecture on “Texas Musicians with a Psychoanalytic Ear.”

In addition to the sculptures and the workshops, College of the Atlantic’s Ethel H. Blum Gallery is holding a “Water Marks Inside” exhibit. The show, which includes work by internationally known artists, was curated by Patricia Phillips, executive editor of Arts Journal. Among the highlights are two large-format photographs by Hope Sandrow, which capture the space where water and air meet with abstract, mesmerizing results. Artist and architect Allan Wexler has developed a set of sculptural, utilitarian vessels for collecting rainwater.

The outdoor sculptures will be on view by the roadside near Upper Hadlock Pond and Echo Lake, and near the bridges at Thompson Island and Babson’s Creek (on Route 3 near Somesville).

“Sites that we’ve chosen are sites that can be viewed at 50 miles per hour in the car,” Manter said. “Everybody is always drawn to looking at the ocean or looking at the water.”

The idea for the floating exhibit was a “no-brainer” for Shaw, who has launched more than 100 of his own sculptures in the water near his Southwest Harbor home. For “Water Marks,” he has crafted a series of metal fins that dance on the water and reflect light.

“It’s so obvious that we have an orientation to the water,” Shaw said. “We have a long history of commerce and boat building. It’s conceptually rich for any artist to work off these existing themes.”

Another theme that comes into play is the environment. Janet Nolan, an artist who incorporates found and recycled objects in her work, has created a raft from brightly colored laundry detergent bottles. It is an eye-catching, attractive piece, to be sure, but it also comments on waste and excess.

Manter, an artist and professor at Princeton University who spends winters in New York City, has created a piece that will be more visible after dark than during the day. Her sculpture, inspired by a memorial for boaters lost at sea, will include solar-powered lights that shine like a beacon at night.

The idea came fairly easily to Manter, but getting it to float is another story. Several of the artists have consulted boat builders to help make their pieces seaworthy, which is half the battle. Water, it seems, is the great equalizer.

“They all have to pay attention to the same laws of nature, and the laws of nature are very unforgiving,” Shaw said. “If it’s not buoyant enough, it’ll sink. If it’s not weighted, it’ll tip over, no matter how good it is.”

LandEscapes 2003 schedule

Sculptures will be on the water from Friday, July 25, to Sunday, Aug. 3. Maps that list sculptors and locations will be available at libraries and bookstores on Mount Desert Island. For information, visit www.mdi-landescapes.com. For workshop details, call 729-1963.

Sunday, July 27

. A reception for “Water Marks Inside” will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at the College of the Atlantic’s Ethel H. Blum Art Gallery.

Monday, July 28

. Papermaking workshop, with Susan Gosin, 9 a.m.-noon, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor.

. Banner collaboration with Carol Shutt, 9 a.m.-noon, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor.

. Landscape painting workshop with Richard Barrett, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Causeway Club Barn, Southwest Harbor.

. Lecture with Dr. Joseph Silvio, 7 p.m., Southwest Harbor Library

Tuesday, July 29

. Papermaking workshop with Susan Gosin, 9 a.m.-noon, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor.

. Writer’s workshop with Roxanna Robinson, 9 a.m.-noon, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor.

. Meet the artists and curator for “Water Marks Inside,” 4-6 p.m., Ethel H. Blum Art Gallery, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor.

Wednesday, July 30

. Landscape painting workshop with Richard Barrett, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Causeway Club Barn, Southwest Harbor.

. Digital filmmaking workshop with Mark Lipman, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor.

. Kids’ basic film workshop with Nancy Andrews, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor.

Thursday, July 31

. Digital filmmaking workshop with Mark Lipman, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor.

. Film animation for adults with Nancy Andrews, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor.

. Guest filmmaker Peter Hutton will screen a series of short films about water at 7 p.m. in the Gates Auditorium at College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor.

Friday, Aug. 1

. Closing ceremony, featuring a reading by Roxanna Robinson, 7-8 p.m., Jordan Pond House waterfront.