BY ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

CANTON – Willow Island Sculpture Garden is now the home of a fresh set of modern sculptures, including one by prestigious, nationally known sculptor Albert Phaley.

Phaley’s piece “Portal” punctuates a series of sculptures recently installed at the park just off Main Street by the bridge. They replace a group of modern art pieces that were installed in 2016 by the Grasse River Heritage group which owns and maintains the ¾-acre garden, as well as Heritage Park across the road. The rest of Willow Island Park is owned by the village.

The lot the garden sits on has come along way from its first life as a Texaco station, then later as a vegetarian restaurant. After the restaurant was torn down, and the lot rehabilitated, the Heritage group thought they could do something more attractive with the space said GRH member Peter Wycoff.

“We were really fortunate to hook up with Doug Schatz,” said Wycoff. Schatz, a sculpture teacher at SUNY Potsdam at the time curated the first exhibit and contributed the piece “Island Queen” to the garden. Other pieces included Peter Lundberg’s “Wanderer,” John Clement’s “Hot Tamale,” and Coral Lambert’s “Little Moss Mountain.”

Wycoff said the original plan for the sculpture garden was to rotate new pieces in every couple years. But, the recent extensive construction on the bridges connecting the island to East and West Main Street, delayed the new installation.

“With all the construction on the bridge, people couldn’t access (the park), so we decided to keep them awhile longer,” said Wycoff.

“Little Moss Mountain” is still taking up residence in the garden but Wycoff said there are plans to rotate it out and install a new piece later this summer.

Besides the Phaley piece, other new works in the garden include two pieces by Gerald Stoner, a high school art teacher from Underhill, Vt., near St. Albans. Stoner’s works “Solstice” and “Mithra” are made with found and salvaged objects and steel, said Wycoff.

“Gerry and his wife Jackie brought them over from Vermont and helped us install them,” Wycoff said.

“We decided this time to use pieces that were a little more representational,” said GRH member Louis Tremaine. Tremaine said the Phaley piece was part of more extensive series which has been shown in a number of major cities.

Finding new pieces for the garden involves research of other similar parks and making connections with artists said the Heritage members.

“It’s about developing networks,” said GRH member Varick Chittenden.

“It also takes on a momentum of its own,” said Tremaine.

The group pays for transport and installation of the works, the members said.

Wycoff said installation of the pieces was made possible with help from a boom truck from Witherby and Whalen and further assistance from Jim Gibson and Son.

The Grasse River Heritage group, with the village, stakeholders and architect Rebecca Weld of Renew Architecture of Potsdam, are working on a plan for the entire Willow Island space, said Chittenden.

“We have now come up with a conceptual plan for the island,” said Chittenden. Chittenden said a recent design charrette identified the highest priorities for the space, one of which is install a performance venue on the island. Chittenden pointed out that a recent school band concert was held there to experiment with the idea and it was well attended.

Other plans call for redesigning the entire park space more as an arts park and having sculpture work spread around the space.

The art park concept was recently taken to the next level with the Canton Chautauqua art and cultural festival held there this past weekend.

“Although it has been very underused, it has been used,” Chittenden said.

Other ideas include an interactive adventure playground there, much like the one being constructed in Ives Park in Potsdam.

The conceptual plan could get a boost forward in funding. Recently the village and town have applied for a state grant under the 2019 Local Waterfront Revitalization Program which could be used for the “enhancement of Willow Island to create an art focused park including features such as an outdoor performance space, natural playscape, and landscaping.”

The Local Waterfront Revitalization Program is offering $15,000,000 from the Environmental Protection Fund to municipalities for community and waterfront revitalization.

The Canton proposal under the application also calls for a pedestrian and bike trail long Miner Street Road from the Village to Jingleville Road connecting the municipal recreation area at Taylor Park.