Representing “a Metamorphosis,” a stunning new butterfly mosaic just Landed on Adams Avenue
Stroll down Kim Emerson’s Normal Heights driveway and you might forget you’re smack dab in the middle of the city.
Birds chirping, sun shining, and the faint buzz of bee wings is pierced only by the screech of a dremel, its fast-flung friction forming a dust cloud overtop the rigid edges of the most gentle form: a butterfly.
“Butterflies represent a metamorphosis of how our world and society and culture are constantly changing,” says Emerson, the artist who, alongside her husband Dennis Reiter, fashioned thousands of small colorful tiles into a neighborhood public art instillation titled “Kailedescope of Butterflies.”
The mosaic marks the feather in the cap for the accomplished artist.
And after more than 7 years of approvals and production, the couple see the installation as their final major public art project. Fitting, it will live just blocks from their home, on the edge of the Adams Avenue Recreation Center.
I first met Emerson while volunteering at my daughter’s school, Adams Elementary. I greeted the kids that day in the library, where, to my delight, they were placing pieces onto the mosaic, which is made up of 11 sections.
Each student at the school had a chance to put a tile onto the piece and Kim graciously let me participate.
As luck would have it, my daughter and I each placed pieces on section #11, just days after forming Uptown 11 Studios right here in Normal Heights.
By serendipity, its installation falls on March 14, National Learn About Butterflies Day.
In the days leading up to the instillation of the piece, Emerson and Reiter have been hard at work putting the final details in place.
On Thursday morning, a crew arrived at the couple’s home to carefully haul the 11 separate pieces to the corner of 35th Street and Adams Avenue, a crucial epicenter in the flourishing neighborhood.
To the west is the heart of the business district; to the south, its elementary school and ball field; to the east, a growing hub of culture and community; and, to the north, historic homes and buildings dot the tree-lined streets.
The 11 different sections needed to be moved with extreme care and Emerson tapped friend Joe Rich of Fortress Design and Build (also a longtime Adams Avenue business).
The crew arrived just as the sun was breaking through the clouds Thursday morning and began loading up the flatbed truck.
From there, it was just a short haul to the Adams Recreation Center, where a smattering of friends and community members passed by throughout the day to see the metamorphosis take place for themselves.
The whole process happened fast. Kim and Dennis worked with Joe and his team to fine tune some details and add small strips of padding between the pieces.
As the wings began to spread, so did the arms. After seven years of work, and more than 30 years of training as an artist, Kim’s latest creation now hung proudly in our neighborhood.
