Many hands were involved in the creation of Warsaw’s newest work of art, down in Central Park.
The piece, titled “Reflection,” was unveiled at a ceremony on Friday afternoon, drawing “oohs,” “ahhs,” and “wows” as the crowd saw it for the first time.
Before the tarp was removed from the sculpture, Suzie Light of the Warsaw Public Arts Commission (WPAC) thanked the board and staff of the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department.
“They have been tremendously helpful to the Warsaw Public Arts Commission in installing artwork – not only here, but in Kerr Park and Bixler Park and in the future – art in the park,” she said.
The project was part of WPAC’s three-pronged approach to public art work in 2023–24.
Community members will be able to see “Reflection” for the first time on Friday. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union“We have installed several Milt Holmgrain statues and sculptures and they have been refurbished and reinstalled. We put out a nationwide call to artists and received about 20 responses. Fortunately, (artist) Gail Christofferson knew exactly what we wanted to do when we wanted to involve the community in art. And, boy, did they respond,” Light said.
She said they were at five different locations, including the YMCA, Cardinal Services’ Redbird Art Studio and Third Fridays.
“Their task was to take a small piece of glass and place it on a mosaic panel,” Light said, recalling that the participants found this very “cool.”
The WPAC’s third action this year was the launch of Art Works. “You can see Art Works on the Facebook page, as well as on Instagram, and look for billboards and numerous social media posts about Art Works in Kosciusko County,” she explained.
Light thanked former Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer for founding the WPAC and for subsequently enabling WPAC members to participate in the Indiana Arts Commission’s workshop entitled “Creative Convergence.”
“Warsaw was chosen as one of five communities to go through this process called Creative Convergence. And in that workshop, we learned things – I learned things,” she said. “When I think of art, I think of sculptures and paintings, and what we learned is that there are creative minds in our community when it comes to soap making, jewelry making, craft brewing, culinary arts, a wide range of wonderful arts, and we’re celebrating that with the Art Works campaign.”
As a result of participating in the workshop, the city received a $10,000 grant “to help us get this thing done! And we’re glad it’s done. I think it was a labor of love for all of us,” Light said.
City commitment
Park Superintendent Larry Plummer said the first Milt Holmgrain statue was placed in Central Park in 2002. Since then, “Radiance” has been placed at the end of Buffalo Street, “The Joker” along the Center Lake Trail, “The Wing Totem” in Krebs Trailhead Park and then the “Primary Trio” in Kerr Park.
“Reflection” artist Gail Christofferson stands in the center beneath her work, inviting the public to join her and take photos. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union“And now we are incredibly happy to welcome Reflection,” Plummer said. “Reflection has a very special meaning for me, my staff and the community because we have all been able to be part of this creation.”
He said “Reflection” represents “a collaborative spirit that defines us and the value we place on art as a community. As we continue to develop and preserve our parks, we should remember the power of art to enrich these places and make them not just places to visit, but places to truly experience and appreciate.”
Christofferson thanked a number of people, saying, “I think it’s really important for you all to know that my artistic practice is not about myself, it’s about this broad community that participated. But I also really rely on my team, my spouse. It takes a team to make something like this, and I appreciate that your community has participated so enthusiastically, and I guarantee you that in years to come, you’re going to have people coming here saying, ‘I made that little blue part.'”
Thallemer spoke about the history and founding of the WPAC and began the installation of the Seward Johnson statues downtown by his former assistant Michelle Bormet.
“The art community came out in droves to support us financially and with whatever else we needed. We ended up doing it twice. But I told Michelle we need to start an art commission because people in this community are craving art. They want art in our community,” he said.
Not only does art make a community more walkable, it “also gives a community the opportunity to express itself,” Thallemer said. Given Warsaw’s diverse community, it is important “that we allow art to show this diversity of our community. And that is, in my opinion, the most important thing if we want to move forward.”
The artist
In an interview before the ceremony, Christofferson described herself as a mosaic artist.
“My medium is mosaic glass. Whether I’m doing a mural or a sculpture, an outdoor mural or an indoor mural, whatever I’m doing, I always use glass as a medium. That’s what I do,” she said.
She came to glass after taking a stained glass painting course and fell in love with the tactical properties of glass.
“Reflection” artist Gail Christofferson speaks during the sculpture’s unveiling ceremony on Friday. Also pictured are Mayor Jeff Grose and members of the Warsaw Public Arts Commission. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union“It has all these variations and different textures, and I fell in love with it. So I started making everyone I knew a piece of stained glass as a hobby. And then I’m a graphic artist by trade, and I decided, ‘You know what? This is what I want to do.’ So over the course of about 10 years, I transitioned to working with glass full-time, and I don’t do graphics anymore. I can just do glass as a career,” Christofferson explained.
Based in Ohio, she has created her art from Oregon to the East Coast and everywhere in between. She has murals and installations all over the country. Corporations, nonprofits, schools and libraries have commissioned her to create artwork for their facilities.
When the WPAC announced a call for applications, Christofferson applied.
“They put out a call that they wanted something in their community that would involve the community. So I do a lot of community-based mosaics because everyone can contribute a few little pieces. And they (WPAC) liked that and I suggested this sculpture,” she recalls.
Christofferson had the vision and design for the piece and also provided the paints and glass. Community members were allowed to put pieces inside.
“It has an angular structure, so we made it all about triangles and angles, and basically it’s abstract, but the point is that you can walk into the sculpture and look up. You’re immersed in the sculpture,” she said. “Instead of just looking at the sculpture from one point of view, you’re standing under the glass.”
After the community completed its part, Christofferson brought it back to the studio to grout and do other finishing work.
“I made the sides. The municipality only made the top,” she said.
The entire sculpture is 10–12 feet tall.
Craig Hamilton is the designer of the structure and also performs the installation for Christofferson.
“I do the glasswork, he does the architecture work and we make a really good team. On a project like this, we are a team,” she said.
Hamilton said the piece began as a small sketch that looked like a tetrahedron (triangular pyramid).
“We wanted to create a small space inside it, something like a little pavilion. But we wanted the water to roll off the top, so I thought we could distort it a little bit and give it a bit more of a dynamic slope, rather than just making it the same triangle from both sides,” he said.
Christofferson liked that better, but Hamilton knew it would be much harder to implement because every angle would be a little different.
Former Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer (right) speaks at the unveiling ceremony for “Reflection” on Friday. Also pictured is city planner Justin Taylor. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union“We got into it, and it became a design-build process where we couldn’t fully plan it, but had to kind of do it spontaneously in my backyard on my property,” Hamilton said.
Christofferson said the sculpture is called “Reflection” for several reasons.
“When the sun shines through, the glass reflects the light onto the cement. Also, you can go in and maybe spend a minute reflecting on your day because it’s kind of a really meditative place. It’s called ‘Reflection’ for a couple of reasons. It reflects the glass, but when you go in, you have the opportunity to maybe reflect on your day,” she said.
Girl Scouts
Before the unveiling of “Reflection,” Girl Scouts from Troop 50568 created their own colorful chalk artwork on the nearby sidewalk. The troop is made up of girls from the Warsaw, Pierceton, South Whitley and North Manchester areas, said Scout Leader Alicia Mediano.
Girl Scouts from Troop 50568 and others created their own colorful artwork with chalk on the sidewalk near “Reflection,” Warsaw’s newest sculpture. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union“It’s a mosaic piece of art, in a different style than what is exhibited today. Here the girls express their art with sidewalk chalk,” she said.
Sherri Johnson is a member of the WPAC and is also involved with the Girl Scouts.
“As the installation of our sculpture ‘Reflection’ approached, the question came up at one of our (WPAC) meetings about how we could involve younger children,” she said.
At first they thought about local schools, but that didn’t work out logistically. Because of her involvement there, Johnson came up with the idea of the Girl Scouts.
