The Fairfield Glade Historical Society donated a new fine art sculpture on the Sculpture Trail.  The large-format sculpture, called “Lightning in the Mountains,” was created by Jean Liberty and inspired by Japanese zen gardens.

Liberty said, “I’ve always been interested in that style as I worked in the orient for many years, and I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese architecture, so I’ve seen several very large gardens.  There’s a beautiful one in Nashville and I just thought that this was a good theme for the sculpture.”

Liberty is a retired NASA engineer who always had a passion for abstract art.  “Lightning in the Mountains” and “Spring Flowers,” also on display on the trail, both show the influence of Alexander Calder on Liberty’s artwork.

Large, sharply cut pieces of Crab Orchard stone represent mountains protruding through a layer of white gravel that symbolizes a cloud layer.  Three bright-yellow twisted metal sheets Liberty created in a workshop jut out of the stones and tangle together to represent lightning bolts.  “I’ve always liked these curved, large pieces like the work of Alexander Calder.  He’s my inspiration and I’ve seen his work all over the world,” Liberty said.

After the unveiling of “Lightning in the Mountains”, the Fairfield Glade Rotary Club presented the Art Guild with an additional monetary contribution in support of continuing activities surrounding the Sculpture Trail.

On Saturday, June 10, 2017 during the Art in the Park event, Art Guild members and guests gathered for the formal dedication of the newest addition to the AG Sculpture Trail. “Catbird Dancer” is a colorful, whimsical, two-sided metal sculpture created by artist Gwendolyn (Gwendy) Kerney. 

Both Gwendy Kerney and her partner, Jim installed “Catbird Dancer” in May and returned to attend the dedication. One side of “Catbird Dancer” depicts a black & white male cat dressed in a tuxedo, and the other side is a black, pink, and white female cat whose red heart beams from her chest. A two-sided blue catbird is perched on their paws. Gwendy shared with the crowd, “I patterned this sculpture after two of my cats, one a “tuxedo” male and the other a “calico” female, both of whom love the outdoors and are happiest in an environment much like the one where ‘Catbird Dancer’ now resides.”

 Prominent sculpture artist Gwendy Kerney recently had the honor of two of her sculptures being juried into the Dogwood Arts in Public Places 2017-18 Show: “Bluebird Dreams of Flight” and “Ladybug Lucky Lady.”

The addition of “Catbird Dancer” to the AG Sculpture Trail was made possible by the generosity of the Rotary Club of Fairfield Glade and two Art Guild members, Sara Flohr and Kay Wode. The Art Guild is thrilled to have Gwendy’s “Catbird Dancer” sculpture on the trail, and we know that it will be enjoyed by children of all ages.

“Stained Glass” is sculptor artist Roger Listenberger’s latest addition to the Art Guild’s Sculpture Trail.  The handicapped-accessible Sculpture Trail is located near Druid Hills next to the Plateau Creative Arts Center. This scenic Sculpture Trail is an offshoot of the paved central trail that travels north-south under Peavine Road.

Viewers will rely on their imagination to see the glass in this unique sculpture. Roger explains, “It’s an imagination piece. I looked at stained glass designs and wanted to make one, but I wanted to make it out of steel.” He created his version of contemporary stained glass artwork from geometric square steel tubing, which provides the sculptural outlines. They frame the ever changing windows of “glass” that is nature in the woods: full of life, growing and evolving throughout the minutes, hours, days, and seasons. The viewer sees into the woods behind the sculpture through windows framed in steel.

Roger chose fluorescent green as the paint color for the sculpture’s powder coat, using a paint process where the pigment is baked onto the steel, giving it a shiny, long-lasting outdoor finish. Roger notes that the green will be especially interesting in winter when it contrasts with brown winter vegetation and white snow. Looking at “Stained Glass,” the shapes created from steel tubing are reminiscent of shapes in nature (possibly a tree, sun, or moon) or whatever the viewer’s imagination wants to see.

The complexity and size of Roger’s sculptures have increased over time, first starting small then moving toward larger, more complex creations. Roger enjoys the technical challenge of designing and creating sculptures with different materials.  He began sculpting with wood and then switched to steel because of its technical challenge; it was a good excuse to learn how to weld.  He also likes to mix materials or switch to different materials because of their differing technical properties and challenges.  Currently he is working in cast stone (concrete) making small tables, creating the bases from wood or steel and the tops from cast stone embedded with quartz or whatever. Roger can be contacted at rjlistenberger@frontiernet.net.

Wood-carving artist Steve Sullentrup created “Keeper of the Woods” from a piece of cedar wood he found in a vacant lot next to Watts Bar Lake. Using his artistic mindset, Steve examined the raw piece of cedar trying to envision the potential that lay just beneath the wood’s surface. Steve hand-carved six beautiful images within the cedar branches: a wood spirit, a frog, an eagle, a pair of raccoons, a feather, and a heron. Sculpture Trail visitors will enjoy the challenge of locating all six images that reside within the “Keeper of the Woods” sculpture.