The Storm Lake Lighthouses

 In early 2021, I came across a call to artists on Facebook that really caught my eye.

Guess how many times I use the word “lighthouse(s)” in this post!

I was immediately interested! The lighthouses are about 7’ tall, 3’ wide, and would be on public display throughout the city. There was a photo of a blank lighthouse standing between the two art teachers, Jess Huss and Libby Whyte, who created and spearheaded the project. It looked exactly like the image on the design application, just seven feet tall. I took a few days to consider some ideas, and then decided on an image of the Landlocked Lighthouse. I wanted it to look like it was a drawing, not a painting. I also thought this would be a relatively simple design to complete since the lighthouse was a flat, cutout board. So I submitted the below image, and it was chosen as one of the inaugural ten designs!

I called it Lighthouse², because it’s a lighthouse on a lighthouse!

I was ready to pick up the blank lighthouse (I would be painting it in my home studio), and arranged the pick-up to coincide with dropping our puppy off at a friend’s who lives near Storm Lake (she would be staying with them when we left the next day on vacation.) I had already measured, and it would fit no problem in the back of my van.

As they say, “the best paid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

I arrived at the building to pick up the lighthouse, and it’s round. Made by Icon Poly, it was a 3-dimensional, round, 7’ fiberglass lighthouse. Okay, well, that’s going to require some Tetris-like skills, as I have two car seats in the van, filled with children, and a dog kennel with a tiny puppy in it (who has of course gotten carsick and thrown up and pottied all over herself in her kennel.) Sorry, guys here to help me, this will take just a moment!

Thankfully all it took was to drop the third row and put the armrests down beside the car seats, and the top of the lighthouse fit like a glove right between my daughters. I wrapped it up in a blanket, and we were off to complete our endeavor without another hitch! When we got home, I emailed my contact about the lighthouse, just in case I had picked up the wrong lighthouse, because I was pretty positive the thing was supposed to be flat. Nope, I had the right one – the photo of the women with the flat image was just to show the size, and I misinterpreted it! My bad!

Photo by Icon Poly, the company that manufactured the lighthouses.

My home studio is not a large space. It was referred to as a “bedroom” when we bought our home, but in reality it’s a tiny room with two doors and one wall is 70% glass patio doors. You’d be hard-pressed to fit a twin size bed in there. It’s a perfect studio, though, with just enough room for some shelves and a table and one easel… No room for a 7’ sculpture though, even if we could have fit it through our doors!

Garage to the rescue! I used a big piece of cardboard as a base, and used it to drag the lighthouse out for painting, and then back into its corner for storage. When we got back from vacation, I gave it a new coat of white primer, and sketched out my drawing with a pencil. I had to modify the design, since it was initially meant for a flat surface, and now had to be put on a round, 3-dimensional surface with windows and a door that stuck out! I decided to modify it so that as you looked at it, the drawing was straight. Then if you take a few steps around, the drawing would line up again. Take a few more steps, and it lines up again, etc. It actually worked out really well! I used acrylic paint, with my two absolute favorite brushes: a #10 round, and a 1" flat, both synthetic. I’ll admit, I listened to the Weeknd’s greatest hits (so far) on repeat the whole time I was painting. I don’t remember how many hours I worked on it, but I do recall singing and dancing as I painted; it was a one-person party!

After the artists returned their finished lighthouses, the sculptures were given a clear coat and mounted on bases. There was a delay in this process, as the company adding the coating was struggling with staffing (as many businesses still are), but eventually the lighthouses were strategically placed with the designs relating to their locations. Mine lives downtown at the Storm Lake City Hall.

Image courtesy of the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune.

There was a ribbon cutting ceremony held on August 11, 2021 at City Hall, with lighthouse cookies (Jon is still perturbed that I didn’t bring him one home) and a long red ribbon – and since my lighthouse was there, I was chosen to wield the giant scissors and actually cut the ribbon!!! Each artist that was there got a chance to talk about their design - and the other designs are incredible! It was fascinating to hear everyone speak about their pieces as they are so wildly different despite celebrating the same city. Here's a link to the article by the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune about the project and the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Image courtesy of the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune.

Image courtesy of the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune.

If you haven’t yet, you really should take a tour of all the lighthouse sculptures. They are removed during the winter but will be replaced in the spring again. It was such a great project and I’m so honored to have been a part of it. I know at one point it was mentioned that this was just a first round, and that more lighthouses could be added in the future. Having a piece of public art on display like this in such a prominent location is truly an honor.

Image courtesy of the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune.

(The word “lighthouse” was used 24 times in this blog post.)