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Savannah Morning News
Islands Closeup
Thursday, October 13, 2005
17th year, Issue 49
Artist Sally Bostwick (front) poses with this giant loggerhead, which will get her unique design. In the background are Michael Bodine, Samantha Claar, Denise Vernon, Rebecca Rice, and Mary Ingalls.
Tybee will see whimsical wonders
Special to the Closeup
By Louise
Shannon-Martin
For the Closeup
In the coming months, artfully decorated “creatures” will roam Tybee Island streets. They promise to be the talk of the town.
Large-size renditions of one of nature’s wonders — the turtle — they will be collectively known as the Tybee Turtle Tour.
Much like Chicago’s famous “Cows on Parade,” the “Belfast Maine Bears” and other cities’ public art projects featuring multi-sized statues of animals painted, collaged, dressed up or down and put on display.
The idea was the brainstorm of a collective group from the Tybee Arts Association. According to its Web site, “Tybee’s Turtles fit us because of our eco-tourism, our marshes, our beaches, our artists and our famous ‘Tybee Time.’ It is a great event that brings together the whole community. Public art has proven economic and artistic value. Many cities have already seen public delight, commercial success and an increase in environmental awareness”
Mary Ingalls, co-chair of the association, said 60 giant logger-head turtle replicas will be on display within the next eight months.
“We are starting with 10 in the coming months, hopefully by year’s end, and an additional 50 after the New Year,” Ingalls said. The idea of whimsical animals to draw in the people has been done in about 70 other cities.
“The possibilities are wide open,” said Rebecca Rice, cochairman. “We are looking for artists who can give us ‘out-of- the-box.’ We want the unusual, the crazy, the unique.”
Each of the turtles will have a distinct character, provided by regional artists. The creatures may be painted, or upholstered, some parts added, others removed. The Art Association is looking for silly turtles, serious turtles, daring turtles. They can be flying a plane, dancing the mambo ... whatever.
So Tybee is calling all artists to come up with “ideas that are wild and crazy, creative and cool, traditional and staid — it’s up to each artist to share their sense of fun, delight, respect, and enthusiasm in the way they see fit,” according to the Web site.
The “bare-naked” fiberglass turtles are about five feet tall and around three feet wide. “The dimensions may change as you position them,” said Michael Bodine, Web designer and volunteer for the project “Some may stand up, the fins removed and replaced with something else and so forth.”
Already the fiberglass turtles are causing a stir. “The turtles arrived about three weeks ago,” Bodine said. “Since then we have had people walking up wanting to buy the plain turtles. Our phone has been ringing off the hook about them.”
Once the turtles are decorated and ready for display, they will be put on some sort of pedestal for viewing.
“We like the idea of putting them on driftwood; the problem is getting pieces large enough to set the turtles on,” Rice said. “If anybody has any large pieces of driftwood and would like to donate to the project, they are more than welcome.”
The first turtle commission is under way. Denise Vernon, president of the Association, said, “The City of Tybee has unanimously decided to sponsor our first turtle, which will be painted by lifelong Tybee resident Sally Bostwick. She is one of our local treasures and an accomplished artist.” Bostwick was asked by the association to sketch out a design.
The turtles will be on display during the winter. In the spring, they will be auctioned off, with half the proceeds going to a turtle preservation project and half into the Art Association. “Money is not the primary focus.” Ingalls said. “It is threefold: to support Tybee businesses, to build and emphasize public art and to raise environmental awareness.”
Here
are some of the turtles being delivered. They will be placed in various
places on Tybee after they have been prepared by various
artists.
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