David Hickman, Carolann Haggard and T.J. Mabrey made Hanna Springs Park their outdoor studio for the past two weeks, performing the sculpting equivalent of a live concert. The work has been as intense as the heat.
The three artists created their works in basically those two weeks, though the planning and preliminary work has been ongoing since the first of the year.
Mabrey, who has lived in Lampasas County for the past 12 years, said she started thinking about what she would do in January. 'I knew if people here hated it, they know where I live,' she said. 'I didn't want them to say naughty things about me.'
This up-close and personal phase of the project ended Saturday. The formal opening of the gardens is set for Friday, Oct. 7, in the park with a Gala For The Arts catered by Austin chef Amuse Bouche and entertainment from Nashville singer Kevin Welch.
The artists didn't get rich doing this. Each received a small stipend, room and board and some free meals from local residents - all donated.
'If it wasn't for the people in this town who donated in-kind services, we couldn't have done this,' project director and artist Nancy Gray said. 'The townspeople really opened their arms for this.'
As a reward the town gets another reason for people to visit Hanna Springs Park, which only a few years ago was abandoned and overgrown before the city transformed it into a park. Now the three artists have transformed huge slabs of donated limestone into three works of art for the park.
For the past two weeks, several hundred people visited the park while the artists put the finishing touches on their creation. The steady stream of people and students through the park illustrates what might be Mabrey's motto: 'Art is not a noun, it's a verb.'
'One of the best things about this has been the chance to stop and talk to people when they come by to see what I'm doing,' Mabrey said. 'It gave me an opportunity to meet some very nice people, and it gives them the opportunity to see the process by which this kind of work is done.'
Mabrey's work is called Four Flora. It consists of four limestone columns engraved with a different aspect of native Texas flora, each one topped by the seed pod from which the tree or plant grows. The oak leaf sculpture is topped by an acorn, for example.
Mabrey and Hickman were mentored by master sculptor Octavio Medellin. Medellin's philosophy about art made an impression on her as indelible as his work. 'He taught us that we're not artists,' she said. 'We're human beings who see things in an artistic way.'
Hickman's contribution to the garden consists of a large slab of carved limestone topped by a kinetic metal and copper piece that operates like a weather vane.
The whole thing is aligned with the original Hanna Springs so that viewers see the springs when they stand in front of it. The limestone has five lines carved lengthwise to create rivulets of water when it rains.
Hickman carved two windows in the structures. A stone from one of the windows will serve as a marker at the spot in the park where the first sun rays of the autumn equinox hits.
Haggard, like Hickman, is from Dallas. Her Art in the Park project is a limestone couch and chair. 'There's no political message or anything here,' she said. 'It's just for fun.'
In that spirit, a group of elementary students have dubbed her creation 'Flintstone Furniture.'
In Lampasas, the value of art for art's sake has been recognized. That warms the heart of Mabrey and Gray, who live and work in the county.
'In Texas we're one of the few towns this size with its own sculpture garden,' Gray said. 'That's something the town can be proud of. It's something else for people to enjoy when they come to Lampasas.'
