New Art in Evergreen Park: Both Outside of the Box and Inside the Library

Books and computers took second stage Tuesday evening at the  as not one but two village art projects got inaugural public showings.

The first of the projects is a brand new mosaic bench, which “engenders a community spirit” according to Chicago-based Chris Zonta, the mosaic artist behind the project.

As a team of grade and middle school children assisted Zonta this summer placing mosaic tiles on top of two cement benches, the mosaic artist noticed onlookers “were just inspired by seeing all this work being done.”

Seeing the work inspired 10-year-old Isabella Haun, a student at , to help Zonta and other students create the mosaics.

“I love the detail that goes into it,” Haun said. 

It helped that the grade schooler is a library staple.

“I come to the library everyday,” she said.

One of the benches features the phrase “Tell Your Story” and a Mexican and African flag, as well as a peace sign over the world with a heart inside. The other bench contains a U.S. flag and symbolizes America’s rich history. Coincidentally, the unveiling comes just under a week before the U.S. considers the .

The mosaic bench tops, made from a combination of porcelain, ceramic and mirror, are not the first mosaics to find a home at the village library. Inside the library, there’s a giant peace mural in the main stairwell. Zonta designed that piece several years ago and library organizers were looking for a way to bring back the artist’s talents. This summer, they found one.

What makes the new mosaics different, and in some ways more resourceful, than the hanging picture inside the library is the outside artwork’s usefulness.

“It’s functional art,” said Mary Deering, the library's marketing and public relations representative.

Twigs, a landscape company operated by Evergreen Park resident Kim Ladd and her sister, will provide landscaping “to freshen up the area” surrounding the benches, Deering said.

Think trees that offer shade and other plants that compliment the vibrant mosaics.

Precision Cement Company of Evergreen Park donated the two concrete slabs that make the foundation of the bench. It took the artistic team of Zonta and students about a month to decorate the donated concrete.

Student Art Exhibit Inside

While the dozens residents who came for the unveiling outside took pictures and took delight in the colorful new benches, several Evergreen Park residents sat inside the book den anticipating an  art exhibit. This is the first time the library has showcased artwork from the school’s Senior Purchase Program, a five year old initiative in which the high school pays extraordinary graduating art students $25 to $50 to display their work.

Since most of those students are already off to college, the gathering at the library was relatively small.  But that didn’t stop a proud mother and grandmother from swinging by on behalf of an artistic son.

Levert Wilkins is one of seven students featured at the library’s new exhibit. His picture, “Timeless Music” is a set of three black and white photos with horned instruments as its theme. Other selected artwork includes a graphic design, a picture that used a unique and difficult photo developing technique known as solarization and other creative art expressions on paper.

Wilkins’ mother and grandmother came to the library to support him.  He now studies technical theater at Lincoln College in Illinois and dreams of one day manning the lights during Broadway productions, according to his mother.

Art faculty at the high school chose to purchase the artwork of the selected students because they went “above and beyond” other advanced art students in their class, said Sandy Safranek, head of the Art Department.

Deering said the library is planning several more exhibits, hopefully featuring more student artwork. donated pastries for this event and may do the same for future art exhibits.

The next exhibit is slated for sometime in late October or November.