Client: City of Lewisville

Overview

Migratory Perch is a celebration of the vibrant biodiversity found in the migratory bird populations that journey through Lewisville. A critical priority for this project was for the artist to engage with and include the Lewisville Community – residents and visitors – in the creation process of elements of the sculpture. The sculpture features a powder coated steel tree, tile mosaic base, and ceramic birds. Eight species of migratory bird found in the region are represented in the tree: Painted Bunting (male), Summer Tanager (male), Indigo Bunting (male), Yellow Warbler, Purple Martin, Blue Grosbeak (male), American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole. The birds represented were chosen in a community vote through an online survey, and the tile mosaic base was created in collaboration with the citizens of Lewisville at the city’s ColorPalooza festival on April 22, 2023. The sculpture was then installed at Thrive Nature Park, one of the City of Lewisville’s newest parks, on April 24th, 2023.

Goals

The City of Lewisville sought a unique, one-of-a-kind art project that was appropriate for Lewisville and for the diverse community that would experience it. Considerations included Lewisville’s community’s deep connection to a thriving outdoor environment and Lewisville’s location along significant migratory bird pathways. Another very important goal was having the community directly involved in the creation of the sculpture.

Process

The first step of the process was the artist call and a review of artist applications with the City of Lewisville’s Art Advisory Board. After conducting interviews, The Board selected artist Peter Hazel. Peter created mock-ups and met several times with the City’s Public Art Department and City employees to flesh out logistics and how to best include the community in creating the sculpture. City employees visited Thrive Nature Park and selected the best place for the sculpture to be placed – at the entrance – to serve as a welcome to not only visitors of the park but for those simply driving past it. An online survey was presented to the community, from which they were able to vote on the birds the artist would create for the sculpture. Peter traveled with the sculpture from Nevada to Texas where he attended the city’s ColorPalooza Festival. Peter assisted festival patrons in helping to mosaic the base of the sculpture. Participants were able to select tiles, add mortar and place the tiles on the base themselves, in flower, leaf and grass patterns. The artist loaded up the sculpture and drove it to Thrive Nature Park, where he finished grouting and installing the birds.