~a column by Colleen O’Brien
A brilliant idea has come to fruition. After three years of due diligence, committee work, discussion and grant writing, we have roof art in Jefferson for the enjoyment of Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower patrons; this was the original idea, to cover up the black tar roofs one can see from 14 stories up, high above the courthouse.
Atop Skeeter Creek Fabricators on the north side of the square are three shining new canvasses of art called “Renewed Dreams.” The trio of flat, abstract, “Zen tangle” pieces are the inspiration of artist Stephanie Hammond, whose parents Ken and Sue Bose own the building and the art emporium within.
“When I was asked to be a part of this,” Hammond said, “I wondered if the committee was sure they meant me. After all, there is so much creative talent in this community, there are so many inspirational local artists who helped me through the years. This was just such a very humbling honor.”
The art, replicated on aluminum “canvasses” by Ogren’s Custom Graphics of Jefferson is the result of an idea that came to Hammond during a rough period in her life. “For me,” she said, “‘Renewed Dreams’ is the concept of the rooftop art project and experiences that I, personally, was having during the creation of the piece. Life was not as I had envisioned it just a decade earlier, and many aspects of my life that I’d worked so hard to achieve and maintain were gone. That was a time of broken dreams.”
But, even during this trying time, Hammond recognized that most people’s lives don’t proceed as planned, and she felt “a subtle spark of excitement and anticipation as I dreamed about creating a new life for myself and my children and what I wanted that life to look like. I dreamed of the new art I would create by living out all of these things a new life could be . . . these were my renewed dreams, an opportunity I would not have had were it not for the broken dreams.”
The heartfelt thank-you speech Hammond gave touched the small crowd last Saturday afternoon in front of the bell tower. With the ceremonial ribbon cutting, the free trip up the tower to view Hammond’s art and the pretty and tasty hors d’oeuvres, the celebration of art with an altitude was a worthy afternoon party. Hammond’s art is as important as Hammond’s speech, for the art symbolizes a small town envisioning an outside-the-box idea and making it happen; as well as the artist herself, who literally, and symbolically, rose from broken dreams to create in her art and in her life new dreams.
And possibly, the vibrant colors of Hammond’s rooftop art will be enjoyed by folks in low-flying planes and by cat burglars, too. It is very good art for a very good start to an unusual Place that Matters.
