Chester County students unveil recycled sculpture project at local park
HENDERSON, Tenn. — One person’s trash is another’s treasure.
Students in Chester County recycled scrap metal to create a community sculpture. The piece was unveiled Friday at Gene Record Park in Henderson.
Student Mason Burns says he and eleven of his classmates started with the idea of building a butterfly.
“We got together and drew it out,” Burns explained. “We came up with the idea of getting horseshoes and incorporating it in and building a bunch of different designs out of them onto the butterfly itself.”
The 12-foot-wide butterfly wing sculpture has over 350 horseshoes.
With the help of a local body shop, United Auto Body, and the Freed-Hardeman University Department of Fine Arts, the sculpture was brought to life.
The students started the project in January of this year and put over 500 hours of work into it.
“We worked hard on it,” said student Daniel Anderson. “We took a bunch of the horseshoes and made stars, fish, turtles. Anything you could imagine we made. It was pretty cool to be a part of this.”
TCAT welding instructor Derick Gibbs says getting to watch his students bring the project to life was a great experience.
“It is a really good feeling to see my students working together as a team, using the skills I taught them to take scrap metal, things that have no purpose, and put together and put on display for the community,” said Gibbs.
Both Burns and Anderson say this was a great way to use their skills to leave a mark on their community.
“It is nice to say that some kids at a high school, altogether young, came together and worked as a team to say that we built something that everybody can come look at and be amazed by,” said Burns.
“I’m very proud to be a part of this because I can come here one day and be like, ‘I helped make that. All of that, Mr. Gibbs helped us do it,'” Anderson said.
The welding students plan to make another sculpture next year.
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