Friends of the Zorach Fountain call their annual meeting a reception.

The nonprofit group, which exists solely to preserve the iconic Spirit of the Sea sculpture gracing the pond in City Park, gets together annually to discuss how to make “the belle of Bath” sparkle, using private funds.

Friends founder Margie Bliss was sitting on a bench in City Park with her husband, Arthur, one night in 2002 when the couple noticed the fountain looked a bit worn. A grant from Save Outdoor Sculpture paid for an analysis that showed significant damage and recommended ways to renovate the fountain.

After 40 years of coastal weathering, “The Lady,” as many affectionately call her, needs repairs, along with a general cleaning and waxing.

The Blisses helped raise more than $100,000 from 2002 to 2005 — enough to address the fountain’s water system, electrical work- ings, pumping, drainage, lighting, stone seating, bridge and bench repair.

As lovely as “the lady” looks — with her bronze arms entwined above her head, hands cupped either in offering or receiving, depending on the mood of the viewer — there’s still work to be done.

“We didn’t have enough money or planning to look at water quality or the problem of the edging of the pond,” said Linda Wood, president of Friends of the Zorach Fountain.

The problem isn’t that the city drains the pond in the fall. It’s that spring rains saturate the ground surrounding the fountain. With no border between lawn and water, there’s an immediate drop-off from sponge to shallow water.

“The park is the focal point of the city and there’s a wealth of affection for the sculpture,” Wood said. “We want it to be as beautiful as it can be. It’s a treasure for the city of Bath, and as someone said at her birthday celebration last August, ‘We have the jewel, now we just need the setting,” Wood said.

At the annual reception — 5 p.m. Friday, April 26, at Patten Free Library — Friends will talk about how to create such a setting for William Zorach’s gift to the city.

Landscape architect Bruce Riddell and landscaper Mark Jorgensen, who provides maintenance for the grounds surrounding the fountain, have developed a proposal for framing the fountain.

“We’re looking at creating a clean stone edge around portions (of the pond) that erode into natural groupings of boulders and plantings,” said Riddell, whose previous work includes much of the landscape design for Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor, where he first teamed up with Jorgensen.

“We want to improve functionality that allows people to get closer to the sculpture and also improve drainage and water quality. And we want to do it at a level of construction that’s on par with the excellence of the fountain,” Riddell said.

Friends of the Zorach Fountain plan to once again raise the funds to refurbish what the Maine Arts Commission, says is one of the state’s major works of public art.

“We’ve done it before,” Wood said. “And what was so amazing was how much people supported the fountain — ordinary people. Not just grants and big private donors.

“This park means something to everyone, whether they had their wedding at the gazebo or their kids catch polliwogs in the pond or they just come and sit on the benches in the evening,” she said. “It’s fill-in-the-blank.”

rshelly@timesrecord.com

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