Art in Public Parks

Posted: 12/16/2011
Polk / Lewis A. Jester Park

In the spring of 2011, a new public art piece was opened and unveiled at Jester Park in Polk County, Iowa. The finished art piece was a 25 foot tall willow sculpture of a tree, complete with an osprey nest and hovering osprey. The trunk of the woven willow tree even has an opening where visitors can go inside and experience a unique perspective of the sculpture. In addition to the willow tree sculpture, the artists also completed a beautiful willow woven fence adorned with hand crafted terracotta animals and plants.

These high quality sculptures were designed and fabricated by local artists, Pam Dennis and Ryk Weiss. Pam and Ryk have been creating art using willow and other media for 25 years. They bring together their weaving experience with willow (a renewable resource) combined with various metals and textured clay.  

Their goal is to make their work feel familiar, yet achieve a combination of forms not experienced before. This exploration of form and texture has also allowed them to successfully use recycled objects in their art, suggesting the fragility and beauty of the earth.

Their work can be seen in communities across Iowa, including Reiman Gardens in Ames, Blanden Art Museum in Fort Dodge, and several Elementary schools in the Des Moines Metro area, and now Jester Park in Granger, Iowa.

Both pieces are located near the Jester Park Natural Playscape and are positioned to lure visitors deeper into the woods. Once an individual spots the sculpture off in the distance, they must leave the play area and hike a nature trail to reach the site. Once they reach the sculpture, they find themselves deep in the woods and surrounded by nature.

A Guide by Cell prompt has been placed by the sculpture to provide interpretive information to visitors and as a way for park staff to measure its popularity.  It has become the second highest called prompt in the entire Polk County Conservation park system.  In addition to its popularity, when asked at the end of the message if they [the visitor] would like to see more art in public parks, 99% of callers voted yes. One comment left by a caller stated… “This [the osprey willow tree] was absolutely beautiful, it was a real discovery, we just loved it. My husband and I just walked upon it, thank you so much.”
 
Art can offer public parks a myriad of opportunities. When strategically placed, and well designed, art can raise awareness, educate visitors, arouse curiosity and provide opportunity for self discovery.  The willow sculpture at Jester Park enlisted the help of volunteers to help collect, clean, and weave the willow. Involving the community in the process establishes a sense of ownership and instills a level of civic pride.

The Jester Park willow art project would not have been possible if not for a grant secured through the Iowa Association of Naturalists. Their support and generosity helped to provide additional and necessary funding to ensure this would be a high quality public natural art sculpture. We invite you to visit Jester Park and discover the willow tree sculpture. Perhaps it will inspire you to think of ways to incorporate public art into your parks and areas.