By Dave Warner
Little Falls – The Buttermilk Falls Park project in Little Falls has made significant progress, and the latest addition is a planned sculpture by the non-profit organization ‘The Art Thing’ for the center of the labyrinth.
“The Art Thing is partnering with Friends of the Labyrinth to lead the creation of a community art sculpture as part of the Buttermilk Falls revival project,” states Executive Director Nick Stag.
“We want this to be a social art thing. We really want the sculpture to represent the identity and the spirit of Little Falls and celebrate who lives here and what it means to call this place home,” he said.
They want to carve that into the materials that are selected for the project, more than likely stone and Little Falls diamonds. “Those are materials that really ground you in where you are. The rock, the diamonds, the water. That’s what this place is,” he stated.
Stag said that those materials reflect where we are but don’t reflect who we are. “We want to shape those materials into a reflection of that.”
These types of installations are intended to be community-driven. The group will first host workshops, conversations, polls, and kid-friendly activities to gather ideas. “As a community, develope a shared vision of what makes Little Falls unique. Its people, identity, and what it means to live here.”
He said the next step is to unite local artists to collaborate on design concepts that reflect that community vision.
“At that point, they would collaborate together to propose different concepts for what the sculpture would look like. Then we would present those ideas to the community, who would vote to make sure it’s an accurate representation for everyone,” Stag said.
After that, they’d contract an artist who specializes in sculpting rock. “We have a few people in mind to reach out to as we get further along – somebody that can bring that vision to life,” he stated.
Carly Proulx, the organization’s program director, said, “We also want to keep in mind that the labyrinth is a kind of spiritual expression for people. We’re not going to use metal. Metal and diamond compete with each other when it comes to energy. We want to hear what people think.”
“We want it to be where if you have someone visiting, you’ll want to say, ‘You’ve got to go see our Art Thing in Buttermilk Falls.’ Hopefully, it will become really important to the identity of Little Falls,” Stag remarked.
Proulx stated, “When a mural or piece of art tells the history of a place and its people, you get an idea of not just where you are but how the people have been shaped here. I just think there are so many people who are starting to come to this area or have been here a really long time—there are new stories, there are old stories, and I’m not sure that people are aware of all of them.”
Stag said, “That’s what art can do. It can ground you in a place and the humanity surrounding it. That’s what art does for us. That’s the kind of art we’re proposing with The Art Thing.”
“Whether it’s a sculpture, a kids program, a mural, or a poetry garden, we want it to reflect the voices of the people who are here and have been here,” Proulx said. “I never felt grounded in the places where I grew up.”
Stag remarked that many times this is because art is in galleries and not its natural habitat. “Art is meant to connect ourselves through each other. Putting this piece with a labyrinth that has this element of participatory pilgrimage to connect to ground – bringing art to this is really cool.”
“We really want people to help design this sculpture,” Proulx stated.
“This is going to become a place where we go as a community,” Stag said. “It’s so peaceful up there but so close.”
You can find out more about the group and the project on their website.
Who actually owns the Buttermilk area? Is it the city or some random homeowner who’s never cared that people go there? The fb comments are funny to read, between the artsy people and the people who don’t even live in Little Falls anymore or go to Buttermilk on what should and what shouldn’t be allowed there.
The property is owned by the City, the work has been approved by the City, and the volunteers keep a detailed record of what is done and have insurance. Haven’t seen any of the complainers helping with anything in the City like the group that has been working almost a year on Buttermilk Falls.