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Sculptcycles spin their magic in Montpelier

MONTPELIER – Have you seen the one in front of the Inn at Montpelier?

Or, ridden the vintage McDonald emblems in front of City Hall?

Maybe the wind was blowing when you passed the one in front of Chittenden Bank and it twirled, bobbed and wagged for you.

They are the 20 "SculptCycles" planted throughout the capital city, with one bonus sculpture in front of the Lazy Pear Gallery on Main Street. All are created with recycled bicycle parts by artists from Montreal to West Pawlet and will be on display from June until October.

A parade to showcase the sculptures is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday at the corner or State and Elm streets. The tour of the SculptCycles will conclude with a 4 p.m. reception on the Statehouse lawn that includes live music by the Colin McCaffrey Swing Band with Allison Mann and refreshments provided by local restaurants.

Sculptcycles are set up beginning on Main Street with the "Whirling Dervishes" at the roundabout to "JUJU" in front of The Drawing Board. Starting on State Street, in the display window at 5 State St., "TricycleSculptCycle" can be seen and there are 11 sculptures placed on either side of the street until "SculptCycle," which is in front of the Vermont State Tourist Center.

"Some of them, there's definitely more interaction than reaction," said Rob Hitzig, coordinator of the public art partnership project. "We gave the artists so much flexibility – other than they had to use recycled bicycle parts. Montpelier's lacking in public art. We figured we'd get more art out there."

Artist Kimberly Hannaman Taylor needed the perfect specimen to fit inside her ovum-shaped SculptCycle, named "Where Bicycles Come From," hanging outside the Inn at Montpelier on Main Street.

"It took her quite a while to find a good tricycle," said Hitzig, owner of the Lazy Pear Gallery. "I think her daughter found it."

The outer, white orb of the sculpture is crafted with bicycle wheels covered in white tape. A bright orange tricycle is suspended within the sphere, meant to represent the yolk of new life, according to Hitzig.

"Bird Bench," displayed in front of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library is the creation of the youngest participating artist, Sam Rossier. He is about to graduate this month – from eighth grade, according to Hitzig.

"He's not a typical kid," he said about the 14-year-old Vershire resident who has taken up welding. "He's been making things and farming for a number of years."

That explains the two shiny tractor seats on the bench. They are flanked by birds crafted with bicycle seats for heads and broken wheel frames for tail feathers. A few spokes are sprinkled along the bird bodies for added dimension.

"Originally his proposal was really complex," said Hitzig, about Rossier's plan to make a bench that rotated by pedal power, spraying birdseed as it moved. "We were like, uh, that might be a little too complicated."

Perhaps the one that brings smiles to the faces of all generations is Delia Robinson's sculpture, "Chariots of the Half-Gods." The McDonald's figurines mounted with wheels on each side bring out the enthusiastic child in everyone.

"The thing I love about the one in front of City Hall is the irony of having McDonald's toys," said Hitzig, referring to Montpelier's political battle years ago that excluded the fast-food chain from moving into a downtown building. "McDonald's finally made it into town… It was difficult to find good spots for all the sculptures. We did struggle with where's the best place for these."

Janet Van Fleet's "Battering Ram" looks right at home in the raised flower garden outside of Denis, Ricker and Brown on State Street.

"Janet just loves to work with found objects, taking old beat-up things and finding new life in it," said Hitzig, who created the sculpture "Dog Walker," on display in front of Bank North. "I am amazed how much effort a lot of artists put into their pieces. People just became so immersed in their projects. They just went all out."

He guessed some artists may have invested up to 100 hours into creating the pieces, which will be auctioned in the fall. Artists will be given a portion of the proceeds from their pieces and the majority of the money will go to the Montpelier Downtown Community Association.

Members of the public can vote for their favorite SculptCycle by grabbing a map, writing down their favorite and dropping it off at the Lazy Pear Gallery, The Drawing Board or City Hall.

"I love that it's actually chained up – the leash," said Frank Woods, a local painter, about Hitzig's sculpture. "This stuff is so imaginative. It's so not the way I think… Even the ones that aren't my favorite, I just think it's a great project."

For more information about the artists, events and sculptures go to www.sculptcycle.org.

Contact Sarah Hinckley at sarah.hinckley@timesargus.com.

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