Iowa City Kids to Collaborate on Grant Wood Neighborhood Art Project

City High art teacher Jill Harper is excited about her latest public art project at the entrance way to South Sycamore Greenway Trail.

The project, in partnership with the Grant Wood Neighborhood Association, will involve recruiting kids in the neighborhood who will help create the artwork.

"It’s great to be able to include kids from the area where the public art will be so the they have more of an ownership and connection to where they live," Harper said.

Harper said they are looking more children who live in the Grant Wood Neighborhood to work on the art project, which consists of two eight-foot tall mosaic covered pillars to be located on either side of the entrance way to the South Sycamore Greenway Trail, off Lakeside Drive.

"The idea is to make the trail head more visible," said the Dubuque native. "The pillars will consist of glass mosaic mural imagery of scenes from the neighborhood."

The Grant Wood project is on the heels of the similar Pheasant Hill Park project, the first city council-approved community art project in which Harper lead her team of students to create a mosaic bench and sculptures. You can see a gallery and video about that project . 

Harper said she is currently working on the sketch designs for this Iowa City Public Art program project, due for completion in the summer of 2012.

She says the theme of the project will reflect how the environment of the neighborhood changes over time.

"I’m mostly going to do a four-seasons type of thing, of how the trailis used throughout the year - things in the neighborhood like the duck pond, or soccer, along with the change of scenery and nature."

The Iowa City Council unanimously passed a resolution at its last meeting announcing its support of the first of the Iowa City PublicArt program projects, which has a budget of $100,000.

Harper said some of the students, like Bryton Jones, are her glass-work students from City High, but some who worked on the Pheasant Hill Park and Grant Wood Projects are from FasTrac, or simply live in the neighborhoods.

“I love spending time with groups of people making things and working towards a common goal,” she said. “I enjoy working in many art mediums, but what often determines the medium for a project is the act of collaboration with others.”

Harper came to Iowa City to attend the University of Iowa in 1992, graduating with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in painting and eventually getting her certification in K-12 Art and two Master's Degrees in Art Education and South Asian Studies.

“I spent a great deal of time living in India and Nepal, which has left a lasting impression on my work and outlook on life,” she said,noting the mosaic installation work of Nek Chand, (the Rock Garden of Chandigarh, U.T. India) http://www.nekchand.com, as one of her inspirations.

“I am also extremely inspired by my husband, Henri Harper, Director of MYEP (Mayors Youth Empowerment Program) FasTrac, who has mentored and encouraged countless youth in Iowa City and East Saint Louis throughout the last 15 years,” she said.

For more information about volunteering for the art project, email Harper at Harper.Jill@iccsd.k12.ia.us.