Education & Fine Arts Entwined
Pine Grove School Gains a Sculpture

Pine Grove Elementary School, tucked away in Avon, CT, will soon be bustling with some exciting, new artwork. Local artist Karen Rossi was commissioned by the school earlier this year to create a large-scale mobile for the library. This art piece and its placement in Pine Grove was made possible because of a generous donation from a family whose children had all attended the elementary school. Over the past few months, Karen has been working to combine the school's mission statement, drawings by the students, and her artistic vision to create a unique hand-cut mobile.

Since the beginning of this process, Karen has had big plans for the sculpture. However, part-way into the process, she realized that her plans were, perhaps, a little too big. The original sculpture layout, with its three circular rings and dangling metal pieces, turned out to be a bit overwhelming. Working "in the round" and creating enough pieces to fill the three, huge concentric circles was a lot more work than originally expected. Cutting the sculpture back to two rings has resulted in a piece that is both more manageable and easier to "take in" visually. The metal pieces that Karen's been busy plasma cutting by hand are all based on the drawings of students. Their drawings reflect what the school means to them, while illustrating the mission statement: "Together we share, discover, create and achieve." We received wonderful drawings of paint palettes, scientific instruments, children sharing toys, and children achieving their goals of winning a race or climbing a high mountain.

In looking at her in-progress piece, Karen has become increasingly aware of all the influences that have contributed to the sculpture itself. As a visual artist, she soaks up so much of the world around her, allowing bits and pieces of her daily life to become reflected in her own artwork. The dangling, chandelier-like structure that she's creating for Pine Grove is somewhat reminiscent of the large, glass Dale Chihuly piece that currently hangs at the Bushnell in Hartford, CT.

Pine Grove is certainly excited that its library will become home to Karen's newest sculpture. Art teacher, Jan Cohen, says, "We feel very fortunate to be able to commission an original three-dimensional art piece that tells the story of Pine Grove and its students through the eyes of a wonderful Connecticut artist! Our library, with its stunning architecture and skylights, is the perfect showcase for one of Ms. Rossi's fanciful flights!" Mid-January will mark the date of the sculpture's unveiling. Once put in place, the piece will hang in the middle of the school's library. You won't be able to miss it, as it will be approximately 8 ft high, 10ft in diameter, and 10ft long. Karen will assemble the mobile and an installation crew from the school will install it.

To see photos of the installation process, click here.

"Create" by Madison, Grade 3