Art in Peoples Park emphasizes community

Holding tight to his mother and smiling, 5-year-old artist Daniel Davila relished the praise of an appreciative crowd yesterday in Peoples Park. Daniel and other contributing artists joined the Bloomington community in celebrating the completion of The Peoples Park Mosaic Tile Project.\nThirteen area artists created tile mosaics in the park's foundation to depict multicultural themes and the power of nature. The mosaics are in the park's entrance off Kirkwood Avenue, just west of campus. \nBefore a presentation acknowledging the revitalization of Peoples Park, Paul Patch, the head artist, carried his infant son and toured the park, appreciating the new mosaics.\n"I wish I could do another one," Patch said. "The more art in the park, the better."\nOne of the mosaics depicts four people of different races interacting; the other shows the four basic elements of nature -- earth, fire, wind and water -- centered around a fire-pink flower.\n"The two tiles are linked together with a corn stalk symbolizing the connection in life between people and nature," Patch said.\nArtist Patrick Siney said he was glad to be a part of the project.\n"It was an awful lot of work and took a lot of time but allowed me a chance to express myself," Siney said.\nSiney completed a tile he calls "Let Music Be Your Voice." The tile depicts a saxophone, piano and guitar intermingled with musical notes.\nAs the afternoon wore on, Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez thanked the artists and Bloomington park staff for their hard work in revitalizing and protecting the park.\n"This project has transformed a city-owned eyesore into a place the community wants to come," Fernandez said\nBill Hopkins, a Bloomington Parks employee, was one of the many thanked for his work in protecting and cleaning the park.\n"It's been nice watching everybody add to the park," Hopkins said. "The park will do good as long as the public enjoys and respects the park." \nFernandez smiled as he told the crowd he was excited at the promise of a new public area to share.\n"This is a creative way to encorporate the community and art," Fernandez said. "I'm thrilled how the park's completion has changed, moving from an exclusive to an inviting environment."\nBefore the event concluded with a Celtic concert, Mick Renneisen, director of parks and recreation for Bloomington, told the crowd about 22 concerts to be performed in the park in the coming year. The concerts will be Tuesdays from May to October during lunch hour.\n"This makes the park much more attractive, open and friendly," Renneisen said.\nAs park patrons enjoyed lunch, a book or a game of chess, each noticed the newest addition to Peoples Park.\n"This park will be here for generations to come, allowing the community an opportunity to take pride in transforming peoples park as well as providing a good model for other projects," Fernandez said.