By John McCallum
Editor 

Westwood receives colorful addition to school's entrance

 

Last updated 11/6/2014 at 11:54am

John McCallum

Westwood Middle School student Riley Carr performs on the the violin for guests at the commissioning of stained-glass artwork by Seattle artist Sonja Blomdahl Oct. 22.

Westwood Middle School students walking the hallway between the school's front entrance and the gymnasium will receive a splash of color now and then - if the sun is out and the lighting is just right.

School district officials commissioned a stained glass piece of artwork created by Seattle-based glass artist Sonja Blomdahl prior to their Oct. 22 meeting. The eight window-panel piece, titled "Synergy," utilizes different types of glass, hand-blown rondellas and prisms creating one large, intricately colored and textured composition and was funded by $35,000 from the Washington State Arts Commission's Art in Public Places Program.

Westwood Principal Erika Burden said a selection committee composed of district staff, community members and even a former Cheney High School art student engaged in a yearlong process to select an artist. The committee created criteria for what they wanted to see in the artwork revolving around the words "happy, color and movement."

"We looked at 80 artists and more off of the public artists roster," Burden said.

The committee devised ratings sheets to help narrow down their selection. They were able to meet with Blomdahl to discuss concepts for the piece.

"She brought in pieces of glass to show us her ideas," Burden said.

Blomdahl's artwork has been displayed nationally and internationally in collections in museums such as the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning N.Y.; the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; the Museum of Decorative Art in Prague, Czechoslovakia and the Kitazawa Contemporary Glass Museum in Kitazawa, Japan. She maintained her own hot glass studio in Seattle from 1983 to 2008 and has received numerous awards including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant and an Artist's Trust Fellowship Grant.

Blomdahl spoke to four different classes at Westwood the day her piece was commissioned, explaining to students touring the piece how it came together.

"One student said, 'I wish this could be in all our windows,'" Westwood teacher Sherry Syrie said. "She might have created a few glass artists today."

Two of those spoke at the commissioning ceremony Oct. 22. Trinity Godfrey said her first impression of the piece was of something else, but eventually she came to see how it all came together during Blomdahl's presentation.

"When I first saw your piece, all I could think of was Skittles," Godfrey told Blomdahl, referencing the colorful candy pieces. "Now, I see it as one instead of components."

Westwood student Riley Carr said the glass panels are eye-catching, vibrant and rich with texture. Carr said she notices something different in the piece each time she sees it.

"Thank you for making our school colorful," she told Blomdahl.

According to information from the Washington State Art Commission's website, the program was created by the Legislature in 1974 to acquire artwork for K-12 schools, public universities, colleges and state agencies. It is funded by one-half of 1 percent of the state's portion of construction costs, and has procured over 4,500 pieces of art since the program was started.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.

Author Bio

John McCallum, Retired editor

John McCallum is an award-winning journalist who retired from Cheney Free Press after more than 20 years. He received 10 Washington Newspaper Publisher Association awards for journalism and photography, including first place awards for Best Investigative, Best News and back-to-back awards in Best Breaking News categories.

 

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