Reclaimed and Recycled Sculpture - “Among the Someone” by Chris Beck

Bridging the gap: Sculpture unveiled on East Morris Street written by Charles Oliver and published in the Dalton Daily Citizen on April 23, 2021

Sculptor Chris Beck said it was Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Chairman Anthony Cline who said he would like to see a sculpture the group was commissioning "bridge the gap" between the east side of Dalton and the west side of the city.

"My brain is exploding at that point," Beck said. "Bridges are cool, aesthetically and from an engineering side."

On Thursday, Earth Day, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful and Beck unveiled the results of more than a year of collaboration and work, a sculpture, "Among the Someone," at Lackey Park, a pocket park near the intersection of Morris Street and Fields Avenue/Fifth Avenue. Made of recycled metal and plastic, the sculpture features a bridge over a no-longer-functioning fountain in the park. On the bridge are children playing with and helping one another.

The park was packed with Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful board members, the families of children who modeled for the sculpture and the children, and people who were just curious about what was going on.

"It's exciting to see so many people out here today," said Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful Executive Director Amy Hartline. "I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but I think people are really excited to see it. For some of the people who modeled for it, this is the first time they will get to see it."

Hartline said the work was commissioned to celebrate Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful's 30th anniversary.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful board member Reed Fincher said he is proud of what Beck produced.

"We knew it would be great, but it's even better than we thought it would be," he said.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful board member Savannah Thomas agreed.

"We are so thrilled," she said. "We've been working on this for over a year. Chris Beck is a pleasure to work with. I never doubted the quality of work, but it exceeded even what I was expecting. The attention to detail is amazing. He really put his heart and soul into this. There isn't anyone else who could have done what Chris has done."

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful board member Misty Silvers said she loves the piece.

"It's really cool," said her daughter Emery, who founded Keep It Clean Dalton, an initiative that encourages other young people to adopt a mile or particular location in Dalton that they will clean up four times a year.

Emery said she is really happy the piece was made from recycled materials.

Juan Martinez's son Xavi and daughter Sophia were two of the models for the piece.

"He (Beck) has done an amazing job," Martinez said. "My wife and I were talking about the fact that in the future when we drive by here we'll always get to see what (Xavi) looked like when he was 7-years-old. My daughter Sophia is up there, too. She's 5. So this is a really exciting day for us."

Beck's daughter Macey posed fishing off of the bridge.

"It was cool," she said. "I'm so proud to be the daughter of a really amazing artist."

The park was dedicated in 1999, and the fountain operated for several years. Dalton Public Works Director Andrew Parker said it was taken out of service around 2007 for several reasons. First, the area was in the midst of an extended drought, and officials said they could not justify continuing to use several thousands of gallons of water in the fountain. Parker said the fountain was also "routinely" vandalized by people putting soap or detergent in the water. He said there was an ongoing cost for labor and materials to test the water and make sure that it met public health standards.

Parker said Thursday he is proud of the sculpture and said it shows what can happen when people in the community work together.

Mural - An Earth Worth Saving

The completion of the mural “An Earth Worth Saving” by local artist Henry Green was celebrated on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 with a ribbon cutting ceremony organized by the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce. The recycling and sustainability themed mural is sponsored by Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful in partnership with 1000 Words Dalton Public Art Project. The new mural is located at the corner of Thornton Ave. and Waugh St. on the side of the MAPCO gas station across the street from the Dalton Green Park.

Last fall Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s recycling committee requested artist submissions through 1000 Words for a recycling and sustainability themed mural. Green’s design which included a view of planet Earth from space was ultimately chosen out of six different designs.

While the painting of the mural was done by Green, volunteers helped to prepare the wall for the new artwork during three work days. Teens from The City of Refuge who volunteered also helped Green select different animals to add to his design.

In the mural the Earth is is covered with plastic bottles bringing attention to the amount of plastic being used but not recycled. By not recycling we produce more waste, litter, and fill up landfills with materials that could be used again. Circling the planet is an astronaut with a recycling bin reaching for a paper airplane that says, “What we save, saves us.” What we recycle and reuse saves the Earth by conserving limited natural resources.

The large trees on either side of the Earth are an homage to the Tree of Life. When we recycle paper we help conserve trees which provide oxygen, shade, and a habitat for living things. Some of the animals represented in the trees are the red panda, chameleon, horse, snake, dolphin, and elephant. As we save the Earth we in turn benefit ourselves because we are all interconnected, making this an Earth worth saving.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful is the local Keep America Beautiful affiliate striving to create a more vibrant, beautiful community. The non-profit focuses on initiatives for litter prevention, waste reduction and recycling, and community greening and beautification. They recently released an educational campaign about preventing litter called “Love it, don’t trash it!” #LiveLitterFree. Learn more at www.keepdaltonwhitfieldbeautiful.org.

1000 Words is a new initiative to promote and accelerate the growth of public art in Dalton. The initiative partners with local artist with the funding, location and community volunteers to create murals and sculptures around town. Program organizers want to give Dalton a voice through public art, accelerate beautification, instill pride in our community and inspire the next generation. Learn more about them and upcoming art collaborations at www.1000wordsdalton.com.

Artist: Henry Green, March 2016

Project Manager: Deanna Mathis

Sponsor: Keep Dalton Whitfield Beautiful (Liz Swafford, Anthony Cline)

Volunteers: Peter Mathis, Cathy Snyder, Malisa Cawood, Liz Swafford, Crawford McDonald, Julia Cagle, Marco Hernandez, Austin Laney, Adelina Martin, Andrea Rodriguez, Kevin Hernandez, Kevin Diaz, Lizett Porias, Jose Gutierrez

Be Peacock Proud - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Artist: Volunteers from Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful                                                  Sponsor: Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority

Rethink your waste…

Pearl the Peacock is one of the peacock statues placed in Downtown Dalton for Peacocks on Parade organized by the Downtown Dalton Development Authority.  Pearl was sponsored by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority and designed by volunteers from Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful from 2011-12. 

Pearl the Peacock was decorated with items that are classified as trash, litter, or are actually recyclable.

When you Reuse them instead of throwing them away you get a beautiful work of art!

The grass on the front and back of the statue is a combination of astro turf and cigarette butts collected from Downtown Dalton.  Front View: Pearl’s legs were wrapped with telephone wire.  The feet have telephone wire and orange mesh produce bags.  The upper legs have six pack rings.  The chest is covered with aluminum can tabs.  Wings are outlined with decorative beads and made of circles cut out of plastic bags.  The lower wings have steel can lids, decorative jewels, plastic tub lids, and drinking cup lids.  The peacock feathers have stems made with drinking straws, telephone wire, six pack rings, and tulle.  The eyes for the feathers are plastic tub lids decorated with pellets, beads, and jewelry.   Back View: Bottle caps from a variety of plastic bottles were glued on the back along with thinner lids from plastic tubs to create colorful feathers.  The lower tail feathers were made from pieces of yellow and white foam from coffee cups, meat trays, and egg cartons.  The upper tail feathers were designed with aluminum foil lids from yogurt cups, medicine bottle, and other containers; plastic tub lids; six-pack rings; aluminum can tabs; and plastic drinking straws.