The first of three new sculptures for the sculpture trail was installed Wednesday, June 26, on the Nature Park trail between First Street and Third Street in Mount Vernon.
Artist Aime Jacobsen took a slight detour to get to Mount Vernon, first visiting the community of Mount Vernon, Ill., before eventually arriving at the Mount Vernon area Monday evening.
“I saw a couple of the funnel clouds in the area as I was pulling up to the hotel I was staying at last night,” Jacobsen said.
When Jacobsen finally saw the spot her piece was to be placed Wednesday morning, though, she said it was absolutely perfect.
Jacobsen said she spent roughly a month dedicated to the sculpture of the dragonfly piece after it was commissioned.
“I tend to be working on multiple projects at once, so it’s hard to gauge exactly how long it took,” Jacobsen said.
Jacobsen has done a lot of dragonfly sculptures, but said that out of all of the sculptures she has created, this one may be one of her absolute favorites.
On Wednesday, members of the City of Mount Vernon public works department helped position the statue to the orientation that Jacobsen and Marie DeVries of the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council wanted. They felt that this position would catch people’s attention from both directions along the trail. Jacobsen and the crews then put the anchor bolts in place.
Jacobsen said she has been doing sculpture work since 2017. She’d previously done graphic design and other art styles.
Jacobsen also has sculptures throughout the country. She joked she is working to dot her pieces throughout the country, now with one in Iowa to join the likes of Florida, Colorado, Oklahoma and Missouri.
The public works department also moved the girl/hawk statue from up near the intersection of First Street East to make room for one of the two other pieces that will be added to the sculpture trail this year, done by local artist David Rega. Public works crew and the artist are determining how best to move the stone sculptures to their resting place along the sculpture trail.
Bob Campagna, president of the Mount Vernon parks and recreation commission, said that Jacobsen’s statue was top of the list of commissioned statues because it fit with the theme of the nature park, was ready to be installed, and was also different than the other pieces they had commissioned.
“This just helps add cohesion to this part of the trail, and we know where all the easements are on this side of the trail, which makes placing them here easier,” Campagna said. “This piece also is designed in a way that really fits with the nature of the trail.”
After this second phase, there will be a total of seven sculptures along the nature trail.
On Wednesday, public works director Eldon Downs, DeVries and several in the park Wednesday commented on how beautiful the piece is along that trail.