Spirits were alive and well on a dreary and rainy October afternoon at NIC. A crowd of onlookers huddled together in the cold, greeting each other with hugs and words of friendship.
A large metallic sculpture stood facing the crowd, its surface glistening in the rainfall. Two large flowing arms lifted up from the ground, holding a circular form in the center.
The sculpture, entitled “The Gift” by C.J. Rench, was one of the three inhabiting NIC’s educational corridor being dedicated that day, alongside Michael Horswill’s “Trilogy” and Allen Dodge’s circular saw piece.
“This is the most ambitious project the Arts Commission has taken on,” said Steve Anthony during the opening comments.
Funded by the Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission, the three pieces were chosen by a selection committee out of 35 submittals. Each of these potential pieces was given the task to communicate the special nature of the surrounding area.
In Horswill’s piece, three totems capture the essence of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the students and faculty of NIC, and the community of the area as a whole.
Rench’s piece, on the other hand, displays the importance of Lake Coeur d’Alene to the area with its aquatic figure and organic shapes.
Harkening back to the days when a sawmill inhabited the area near NIC, Dodge’s sculpture is simply a representational circular saw and banner covered in native beadwork, describing the historical marriage of the two lifestyles on the land.
“It’s funny… The sawmill is gone, but the natives are still here,” said Dodge.
The highlight of the event was the blessing of the art and grounds by Cliff SiJohn, an elder and spiritual leader of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.
“Everything has life, even rock,” said SiJohn, “Rock in the form of sculpture using hand, spirit, and mostly heart has been given life by these men.”
SiJohn then said his blessing in the native Coeur d’Alene language, asking that the crowd gathered there on sacred land as friends and as relatives to be blessed by spirits in heaven.
With that, Coeur d’Alene welcomed three new pieces of art into its community, bringing the count up to 54 public sculptures in the area, according the Arts Commission.
“It’s spectacular to be a part of a community who values fine and performing arts so much,” said NIC President Joe Dunlap.
Through the work of the three artists, the spirit of NIC and the city as a whole is now evident for the world to see for a great time to come.
