Andrea Stix Wasserman : Public Art: Isle la Motte

Lake Champlain Bikeways Millennium Trails Art Project 2003 • Isle la Motte, Vermont Lake Champlain Bikeways is a project to delineate a bicycle route around Lake Champlain with the inclusion of Quebec and New York State. The bicycle rest stop is a permanent public sculpture installation commissioned as part of The Lake Champlain Bikeways Millennium Trail Art Project on Isle La Motte, Vermont. The project was a collaboration between Andrea Wasserman, Liz Billings, Andy Arp and Hector Santos in concert with Lake Champlain Bikeways, the Vermont Arts Council and in partnership with the local community. The site of the sculpture is the Town Recreation Field of Isle La Motte that sits at the head of Lake Champlain and encompasses the wetlands, the farmlands and the grand vista of the lake so indicative of the Islands of Lake Champlain. Our vision was to create a public place for the community as well as for the Millennium Bike Trail that provides a permanent sculptural destination point and rest stop, and connect the cyclists to the community of Isle La Motte. The sculpture interprets the geological formation of the fossils found in the indigenous local black marble quarried just a mile from the site and reflects the biology, geology and history of this particular place. The piece is comprised of two interlocking 60' stone walls that undulate in vertically forming a spiral fossil figure. Laid in the ground is a pattern of large granite cobble that forms a plaza surrounding these walls. The sculpture is lined on the long sides by an alee of trees to provide shade. The stone installation creates a gathering place with seating that looks both in toward the island with shade and also outward toward the long view of the lake itself.