Butterfly Brilliance
Artists' winged creations raise money for charity
By Mary Shapiro
Tuesday, August 3, 2010 3:06 PM CDT
"I've always wanted wings like a butterfly, to carry me through worlds only I can imagine, realms of translucent color and softness, and places I'd never wear shoes."
That poem by Webster Groves artist Mary Radcliff-Harnetiaux, 37, formed the concept for "Flutter," the name of the jewel-like butterfly artwork she's creating.
"I'm making it look like it floated out of a child's imagination," she said as she added some yellow acrylic paint to the 57-inch high, 250-pound fiberglass butterfly with its 4-foot wingspan.
She's among 54 artists who are painting butterflies for the first-ever Wings in the City charity public art project.
The project was created to raise money for the non-profit Wings, BJC Hospice's pediatric palliative care program. The program is designed to help relieve the physical, emotional and spiritual suffering of seriously ill children. The idea came after Jennifer Koman saw a similar project with turtles in Vero Beach, Fla. Jennifer Koman and her husband established an endowment for Wings in 2009, said LaVanna Wrobley, project manager.
Butterflies, all financially "adopted" by a corporation or individual, will make their public debut Oct. 10 at the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. From March to May, they'll be on display at various locations throughout the metropolitan area. "This is the most worthwhile project I've done," Radcliff-Harnetiaux said. "One that can help children, which is important to me especially now that I'm a mom." Artists received their butterflies in May and have until Sept. 18 to finish. Suntrup auto dealership in Kirkwood will then clear coat them for outdoor display.
Radcliff-Harnetiaux's plan is to eventually decorate her butterfly and the poem on the base, with every color of the rainbow, more or less. "My son Zane (soon to be six) looked at it and said 'butterflies? Those are for girls,' so I used very little pink," said Radcliff-Harnetiaux, who specializes in large-scale abstract works. She's also painting "boy-centric" little critters - a snake, dragonflies, beetles, bumblebees, snails and others - which will be hidden in the design of the butterfly's wings, flower and base.
Paul Pagano, 39, of Maplewood, is working on "Begin Again," a butterfly sponsored by Schnucks Markets. "It's a very colorful mosaic. I'm using recycled glass, scrap glass, glass beads, anything glass I can get my hands on," he said. He enjoys doing projects that benefit charities, such as Wings, Habitat for Humanity and Stray Rescue. A designer and the construction project manager for his own Paul Pagano Designs firm, he's "into mid- 20th century abstract art.""This whole project is awesome, and it's been amazing to do something beautiful that benefits Wings," he said.
Link to Suburban Journals article >
St. Louis To Spread Its Wings
Webster-Kirkwood Times, August 06, 2010
Readers may have heard of the "Cows on Parade" public art project in Chicago, or "Pigs on Parade" in Seattle, well now BJC is sponsoring a project showcasing more than 50 decorated butterflies to be placed in prominent locations throughout the community. Called "Wings in the City," giant, fiberglass butterflies painted by selected artists will begin appearing this spring at yet undisclosed locations throughout St. Louis City and County. Wings is BJC's pediatric hospice and palliative care program. The program will raise funds for Wings' new Jennifer and Jim Koman Expressive Therapy Program. Pictured above are (from left) Connie Frommelt, Lucy Krejci and Lucy's mom, Meg Krejci, with their butterfly creation. All three artists are with Masterpeace Studios at ArtSpace at Crestwood Court and live in Webster Groves. Link to www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com article >
Paint your own Butterflies
The paint me butterflies are now being sold at the following stores:
- Lusso
165 Carondelet Plaza
Clayton, MO 63105 - CODI
9218 Clayton Road
Ladue, MO 63124
Butterfly At Muny Created By Local Artist
KSDK – St. Louis is spreading its wings for a city-wide art exhibition.
Tuesday night the BJC Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Care program unveiled a butterfly at the Muny in Forest Park. Read full article >
Butterflies Bring Peace To St. Louis, But One In Particular Carries Special Meaning
Fly Softly Dear Butterfly For All Of Those To See, By Suzanne Boyle
Belleville News Democrat
With spirit, hope and grace ever so gently.
Fly for those who left our world too soon,
Hold your wings high for everyone to admire and swoon.
-- Part of a poem written by Robin Zarzecki in memory of her son, Caleb. It is painted around the base of the butterfly.
When Robin Zarzecki of Troy worked on her butterfly sculpture, her thoughts flew to son Caleb.
"I did a lot of sketching and a lot of crying the day I got it," she said of the sculpture delivered to her in April by Friends of Wings, which raises money for hospice care. She put the finishing touches on it in late May.
And the Artists Are...
St. Louis – St. Louis is spreading itʼs wings...and showing its talent! Wings, a BJC pediatric hospice
and palliative care program, is sponsoring a citywide public art project showcasing over fifty
decorated butterflies throughout our community next Spring. The program, called Wings in the City,
will raise funds for the Expressive Therapy Program. Each of the 5ʼ x 4ʼ fiberglass butterflies will be
painted by a local artist, in partnership with a sponsoring individual or organization.
Download Press Release
Wings program at BJC launches butterfly project
By Deb Peterson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch TAKING OFF: Some years back, St. Louis had sculptures of people all over the place. It was “The People Project,” St. Louis’s venture into the public art trend that was launched in 1999 with Chicago’s “Cows on Parade.” Read full article >
St. Louis To Spread Its Wings
BJC Wings Announces Citywide Public Art Project
Download Press Release | Download Q&A | Download 8x10 Photo
ST. LOUIS (February 16, 2010) It is said if a butterfly flaps its wings the effect can be felt around the world. Wings, the BJC pediatric hospice and palliative care program, announced it will be sponsoring a citywide public art project showcasing over fifty decorated butterflies in prominent locations throughout our community next Spring. The program, called Wings in the City, will raise funds for Wings’ new Jennifer and Jim Koman Expressive Therapy Program.
Each of the fiberglass butterflies, (five feet high by four feet wide), will be painted by a local artist, in partnership with a sponsoring individual or organization. Mary Engelbreit, the event’s Honorary Artist, has led the charge calling artists throughout the region to design beautiful, whimsical and unique creations.
Wings in the City, similar to Cows on Parade in Chicago and Pigs on Parade in Seattle, is a fun opportunity to gain visibility and raise needed funds for Wings’ specialty programs. Barbara Westland, Executive Director of BJC Hospice, says, “Wings in the City is such an exciting project. While it promises to raise awareness and important funds for the Wings program, it will be such a wonderful event for our community and sponsors, too. Our butterfly logo symbolizes both hope and grace. We can't thank our Presenting Sponsor, Emerson, and our media partner St. Louis magazine enough for their support of this event and other charitable programs that make such a difference in our community."
The butterflies will be delivered to St. Louis in April. Decorated butterflies will be unveiled at a sneak peek event at the World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park in October 2010, before they go back in to their cocoons for the winter. The Butterflies will then be on display next Spring from March 2011 through May 2011 in prominent locations throughout the city and county and will be sold at the Art Takes Flight Auction in May 2011.
Established in 1997, Wings is a nonprofit organization that provides palliative and hospice care to children who have progressive or life-threatening illnesses, regardless of the family's ability to pay. It is the only program of its kind in our area, providing clinical care and expressive therapy to patients and their families to help minimize the fear and maximize the joy during a difficult time.
If you’d like more information on this topic, or a black and white photograph of an unpainted butterfly, please call Sally Gelfman at 314-223-6115 or e-mail sallygelfman@gmail.com.
