In 2019 I joined the Young Sculptors Project as a freshman. The project, which aims to bring together a team of around 15 high school students and an established Minnesota sculptor, and a college art apprentice to create a public art installation, started in 2011 and happens every two years. We were introduced to professional artist Sara Hanson and Carleton Visual Arts grad William Lanzillo who worked with us for two years to create the sculpture that currently resides outside of the Northfield Public Library.

          To brainstorm our project, we went on a field trip to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and took a tour of public sculptures around the area. We also visited Sara’s studio in the warehouse district and learned about her work. It was amazing to forge (haha get it) a connection with this amazing metal artist. Back at our school, we decided on the theme of our sculpture: representing community through micro and macro environments. We broke into groups and each built a model to vote on. In the end, we ended up using elements from each model and we built a final mock-up before we were stopped due to the pandemic. 

          One year later, in 2020, we returned to build the sculpture. We learned about the cost of materials and we all traveled to the cities again to purchase steel metal rods and aluminum bricks. In our school’s metal shop, we learned how to bend metal by heating it up with a torch, weld and use a plasma cutter to build the main frame. 

          Creating the structure of the sculpture was a group effort, involving many ladders and holding heavy rods steady while someone else welded them, dodging sparks. In contrast, the aluminum medallions were personalized. Each person was in charge of creating their own illustration of community, either in a micro or macro environment. We worked almost everyday into the summer heat, finally revealing our sculpture, Douglas, that June.

          You can read more about the Young Sculptors Project here.