Pic Of The Day #1089

Posted on April 10, 2020 | 7 Comments

Saugatuck Elementary School (Photo/John Videler for Videler Photography)

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7 responses to “Pic Of The Day #1089”

  1. Caryl Beatus | April 10, 2020 at 9:16 pm |

    DID THE KIDS MAKE THESE?

  2. Jo Shields Sherman | April 10, 2020 at 10:03 pm |

    Thank you for a cheery and colorful image. And looks like they’re about the right distance apart…

  3. Mary Frances Smith | April 10, 2020 at 10:24 pm |

    What a delight to see this post. Our twin grandsons, Jacob and Joshua, are students at Saugatuck Elementary. Their grandfather, Herman Smith, graduated in the 1950’s when this Staples High School. Our grandsons are
    fourth generation “Smiths” in the town of Westport.
    Proud Grandparents
    Mary Fran/Herman Smith

  4. Eva Rosenblatt | April 10, 2020 at 11:16 pm |

    Those were made by Westport artist Elise Black.

  5. Patricia McMahon | April 10, 2020 at 11:29 pm |

    The creations of ELISE!

  6. Elise Black | April 11, 2020 at 5:38 pm |

    The installation called “Walkway” was created by me in 2001 and installed in 2002. It was an artistic and whimisical solution to the need for bollards to prevent cars from driving on the walkway that led from the parking lot to the side entrance of the school. The figures that were part of your past challenge that hung in the atrium of 125 Main street, were seen by Howard Lathrop (who was the Chairman of the building commitee of Saugatuck Elementary during its renovation) October 2001 when I had an opening for that show called Humanform, he asked me if I could create something similar that would serve the purpose of alerting drivers to the people navigating their way from cars to the school, and I agreed. The figures at the school were designed with more childlike proportions than the original figures, and since the paving had not been done yet, I designed a hopscotch pattern for the walkway.

    At the same time, Kings Highway Elementary was undergoing a reconfiguration of their back parking lot. The principal at the time, Mr. Buckley, saw the sculptures at Saugatuck and asked if we could do something there as well. I used the same figure but flipped it in different ways and created an installation called Tri-Play. (You will notice in the photo it had and additional piece that is no longer part of the sculpture).

    A few years back, I was invited to Kings Highway”s Museum Night, as one of the classes had done a project based on my installation. I had not seen the sculptures up close for years and was dismayed to see how in need of restoration it was. The paint was peeling and the ground around the piece was worn out grass. I had always invisioned a circle of ground cover such as pachysandra to create a sort of base for the piece and act as a visual deterrent for kids to climb on it.

    Before moving to Florida last fall, I had started the discussion with Kathy Benowitz of the Westport Permanent Art Collection as well as with The owners of Gault and the Parks and Rec Department. All parties agreed that the 2 installations were due for some TLC…and any restoration would probably be done when students were not there. In the grand scheme of things, I know this is not a priority, but I am hopeful that they might be restored to their original condition so that the town may enjoy them for many decades to come!

    https://danwoog.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/elise-black-with-sculptures.jpg

  7. Mary Clare Lyons | April 12, 2020 at 9:50 am |

    Stunning and Joyfully Spirited Work. Thank you.