Ann Lawlor walked around the corner toward the atrium in Town Hall, not realizing the art commissioned for the Town of Halton Hills’ 50th anniversary had been installed.
“It was absolutely stunning,” the mayor said. “I was blown away. It is an absolutely spectacular piece of art. It wraps us in colour and it makes it an even nicer place to come to work.”
The 52.5x14-foot piece was created by Kingsville artist Denitza. Working off the theme Connecting Communities, she incorporated instantly recognizable landmarks including downtown Georgetown, Acton Town Hall and the Williams Mill. But a closer look also reveals the stone bridge from Limehouse Conservation Area, flowers from the Lucy Maud Montgomery garden in Norval and sunflowers from Andrews Farm and other local landmarks.
“She captured our streetscapes, our signature buildings,” Lawlor said. “She has really blessed us with visuals of rural and historic places.”
But the piece almost never happened. Denitza had been working on a long-term project for three months. By the time it was finished, there was only a week left before Halton Hills’ deadline for the project.
She began researching the Town, checking out potential elements for her piece on Google Maps.
“I learned a lot about the town, mostly how beautiful it is, how many trails there are and how naturally stunning it is,” she said. “I took note of important locations, researched the people and figured out what is important to the community. The window wasn’t big enough for all my ideas.”
The project itself was unlike anything she had ever worked on before and it created some challenges. Going on the top portion of the windows in the atrium, colours were an important consideration. It also had work from the outside of the buildings as well as from inside. And then there was the sheer scale of it.
As many sketches as she did, she still had no idea how the finished product would look until her work was transferred to vinyl and installed on the windows.
“I had to think very differently than I would when I’m doing a two-dimensional painting. It’s a window, not a canvas, so I had to think about the colours coming through it and I had to do a lot of experimentation,” she said.
She hit the send button on her submission five minutes before the deadline.
Jacqueline Sargent, a member of the selection committee who helped choose the piece from approximately 25 submissions, said Denitza’s work immediately emerged as a front runner.
“It is such a unique presentation with the usage of the space and colour,” she said. “It leapt off the page. The stain glass feel really helps translate the colour right into the room.”
“It was intense, but it was well worth it,” Denitza said after seeing the finished product for the first time.
The Town also highlighted other 50th anniversary initiatives during Thursday’s unveiling:
- Shelagh Law Parkette Kiosk: The kiosk informs visitors about Glen Williams, the parkette’s history and the importance of the space
- Town Tree Planting: Trees for Halton Hills planted five trees at Town Hall, with a plaque commemorating the Town’s 50th anniversary, as well as trees planted at other locations
- Our Legacy Sculpture: Local artist Doris Treleaven created a metal sculpture incorporating local fauna
- Acton Agricultural Mural: Local artist Robert John Paterson created a mural on the drill shed in Prospect Park, depicting the town’s history.
