'Take Time' to view new art
Tom Hasslinger | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 14 years, 4 months AGO
<p>Artist Teresa McHugh talks about the making of the tree sculpture that now stands in a lot on Sherman Avenue near 23rd Street. Dozens gathered for a dedication ceremony for the public artwork on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Tina Hood, left, and Nancy Heffter, neighbors of artist Teresa McHugh, point out features of the the city's most recent public art piece.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - It's finished - a blend of the past, present and future standing on the corner for every visitor to see.
And if you look closely, you'll see it says 'Cd'A.' Look closer still, and you'll spot the circling raven high up in the ponderosa pine as a tribute to the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.
"It feels surreal," said the statute's creator, Teresa McHugh, on the 20-foot artistic piece now planted on the southwest corner of 23rd Street and Sherman Avenue. "It hasn't quite sunk in yet, but I love it and I'm quite proud of it."
It took a lot of hard work to get it here.
McHugh began fabricating the piece, called 'Take Time,' back in December. It took until the middle of June to finish the blend of traditional and contemporary art. Wednesday was the dedication ceremony - the 49th piece of public art to go up around the Lake City in the last 10 years.
"They did a nice job, the installation is terrific," said Linda Nelson, who served on the local subcommittee that selected McHugh's piece from the original 40 or so submissions the city's art commission received last year. "I'm glad we're doing this in this town finally. Art should be a part of people's lives every day."
Bronze beams wrap around the steel statue of the ponderosa pine tree like cursive, spelling out the Lake City's abbreviation.
The lone tree is a nod to the forests of North Idaho while paying homage to the logging and sawmill industries that supported the community for more than a century. The contemporary bronze portion depicts the future, as well as more free-flowing shapes associated with the city, like water, recreation, wind and sailing.
"What I was after was our past and our future," said McHugh, a Lake City native who also designed the abstract art pieces standing atop Kootenai Medical Center's parking garage. "I hope everyone enjoys the sculpture and it becomes a place they want to take visitors."
It's now Coeur d'Alene's "Gateway" piece, greeting visitors and commuters coming in near Interstate 90. It was paid for from a $100,000 fund that the city has for public art. The city dedicates 1.3 percent of its above ground capital improvement budget toward such displays.
"I know how proud her father would be of her," said McHugh's uncle, Phil Clark, after admiring the piece. "I want people to know that."