Community Corner
LAST CHANCE TO VIEW DOWNTOWN HIGHLAND PARK AUTUMN GLASS ARTWORKS: THE GREAT ARTS OF HIGHLAND PARK ANNOUNCES "AUTUMN GLASS" BEST IN SHOW WINNER AND THE "RETURN OF THE BUTTERFLIES"
HIGHLAND PARK, IL (APRIL 2014) – Get to Downtown Highland Park before the end of April for the last chance to view the fabulous Autumn Glass Artworks! Check out the “Best In Show” winning piece, “Forest Poetry,” by Evanston artist Chris Heisinger. Over 55 artists submitted their work for consideration, and only five were chosen as finalists to create beautifully crafted glassworks that went on display on the gorgeous landscaped streets of Downtown Highland Park’s Central Avenue Shopping District in September 2013. Visitors will be able to enjoy these amazing artworks until the end of April 2014, and Downtown Highland Park will then make way for Spring flowers and the “Return of the Butterflies” on May 10th.
"All of the Autumn glassworks were fantastic and the variety in designs and techniques made them a wonderful and interesting addition to Downtown Highland Park,” says Miriam Glabman, of Highland Park's Public Arts Advisory Group. Heisinger’s piece was voted unanimously as the final $1,000 prize winner, juried by the Highland Park Public Arts Advisory Group, including members of The Art Center Highland Park and the Highland Park Cultural Arts Network.
Find out what's happening in Highland Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Specializing in stained glass mosaics, Heisinger’s “Forest Poetry” incorporates stained glass, agate, granite, slate and river pebbles to bring together realistic elements of the outdoors. “Autumn always reminds me of hiking in the woods with the trees ablaze in color and the crunch of the leaves under foot,” says Heisinger. “With Forest Poetry, I wanted to create that experience.”
Find out what's happening in Highland Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The community now looks forward to the new season with the Butterflies on Display installation.
“After a fabulous response to the initial Butterflies on Display installation in 2011, we are excited to have selected 15 fabulous new creations that will be fluttering back into Downtown Highland Park this Mother's Day weekend,” say Gabrielle Rousso, Executive Director of The Art Center Highland Park.
The public is invited to meet the monarch artists, and come watch the winning wonders as they find their homes up and down the streets of Downtown Highland Park on Saturday May 10th starting at 10am. The Return of the Butterflies will be on display through the summer.
In addition to the Return of the Butterflies, local artist, John Bolo will be unveiling a six-foot tall steel and glass mosaic sculpture representative of Downtown Highland Park’s Butterfly Project. The colorful and visually dynamic work features butterfly forms that will glow with nighttime up lighting and take full advantage of its daytime brilliance in the afternoon sun. The “Fountain of Butterflies” will be on display in Highland Park’s Gateway Fountain on the southeast corner of Green Bay and Central Avenue.
The Great Arts of Highland Park installations create an atmosphere of vibrant and lively seasonal scenes, while bringing creativity and arts interest to the Highland Park community. Autumn Glass is the fourth in a series of ongoing art installations on display in Downtown Highland Park, including Winter Mosaics, Butterflies on Display, and The Magic Garden, these projects exemplify the Great Arts throughout the community. The themed 'decorate the streets with art' contests bring the community together for various efforts to make Highland Park a more interesting and lively place to visit and shop.
Highland Park is fast becoming known as the North Shore’s destination for visual, performance, literary, and musical arts. The Great Arts of Downtown Highland Park is a collaborative effort to bring public art installations to the streets of Downtown Highland Park. Highland Park Cultural Arts Network, or HPCAN, was designed to raise awareness of the uniqueness of the North Shore arts. The organization is dedicated to bringing mutual support to local cultural arts groups, as well as providing resources and information. Other Highland Park cultural centers include The Art Center, Midwest Young Artists, Highland Park Poetry, and the Irina Makkai Classical Ballet & Dance School.
For more information on future art installations, please contact The Art Center Highland Park, http://theartcenterhp.org, or HPCAN, www.HPCAN.org.