'Renaissance' light fixture displayed at AOG

(Photo by Russ Mitchell) City officials and members of the boards of the Spencer Area Arts Council and SPACE look on as Spencer artist Holly Kellogg unveils a commissioned art fixture Thursday evening at Arts on Grand. [Order this photo]

At a place called Arts on Grand, you might expect a creative solution when a light fixture goes on the fritz.

Some sockets wouldn't work and the front foyer needed replacement lighting. The end result, a locally-designed creation by Holly Kellogg, was on display Thursday night.

The new fixture gives visitors the effect of the sun shining through the branches of a tree. The Kellogg design was welded by Cycle Country and the glass was blown at Bogenrief Studios.

"It was all done locally," said Martin Arthur, the executive director at Arts on Grand. "It was manufactured locally and designed locally."

The process began when the the board of the Spencer Area Arts Council passed on an off-the-shelf fixture and saw an opportunity to commission a new piece of public art.

Local artists were invited to submit designs for a new light fixture to hang in the front foyer. Three entries were submitted, and the public was invited to vote. Kellogg of Spencer submitted the winning design.

"It kind of looks like a nest of twigs around the glass part," Arthur said.

The fixture won't be near the front of the Arts on Grand just yet. It is safely tucked away until front of Arts on Grand is restored and expanded as part of Spencer's storefront initiative.

"That will mean that the front foyer is going to be much larger," Arthur said. "Right now, the entryway is recessed so it is about half as big as will be when it is redone."

The locally-created fixture will add a little visual interest to a dark corner for now.

Support for the project was provided through a Renaissance Initiative Grant from the City of Spencer. It was going to be unveiled at Grand Meander, but a snowstorm cancelled the annual event.

The Spencer Area Arts Council will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2009. Arts on Grand will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year as well.