Cloverdale Fourth Graders Hit the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail

4th graders in front of "The Disc"

By Janet Howell, Trail Coordinator

With clipboards, pencils and an illustrated map in hand, Cloverdale fourth graders set out on a tour of the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail.   Over the course of two weeks in April, I met Jonni Conway, Stephanie Fernandez, Emilie Barrow and Anna DeLaney’s fourth grade classes sharply at 9:10 a.m. in front of M.C. Carolyn’s, Big Red Candy Apple at the entrance to the library.  After a brief introduction of the trail, we followed the map through town with a stop at each sculpture ending up in front of Pierre Riche’s, Salvaged Horse, where they examined it and spotted how many old tools were used in its creation.  

Map used for the 4th grade tours
Map Used for the 4th Grade Tours

On the reverse side of the map, specific questions unique to each piece were asked, which opened the conversation up to more questions by the students.    I was impressed by the depth of their answers and questions. They studied each piece carefully and answered thoughtfully.  At Stan Huncilman’s piece, Hekate, the question was:  This Sculpture was created for everyone to see something different.  What do you see?  The hands shot up and their answers were interesting and varied, such as:   binoculars, a giant camera, a ship, an engine, a propeller, a man with glasses.

Select the map image to download the full size PDF.

4th Grade Titles and Questions
4th Grade Titles and Questions

At Sculpture Jam’s, Derrick, in front of Papa’s Pizza, it didn’t take long for the students to figure out how to make him speak and make noises.   Derrick was the crowd pleaser due to the fact he could talk, was made out of found objects and focused on sustainable energy.   When asked why they thought David Mudgett’s piece, The Disc, was voted best of show by the judges, some shouted “because it is so cool.”  Hard to argue with that answer. 

It was wonderful to witness their enthusiasm for the Sculpture Trail and their acknowledgment of how fortunate Cloverdale is for having public art in our community.   One student asked, “Why doesn’t every town have sculpture on their sidewalks?”

Select the titles/questions image to download the full size PDF.

Photos from the Event