Mosaic furniture placed in downtown walkway
‘Prairie Dreams’ dedication slated for Sunday afternoon

by Goldie Rapp - Bureau County Republican

published on September 4th, 2019

PRINCETON — The Mary Uthoff Memorial Walkway has been transformed.

In the past week, the space has gotten quite a facelift. The area has been swept up. Flag poles have been erected. Colorful cloth sails and string lights have been hung, which adds a cozy touch to the space at dusk.

And on Tuesday morning, the mosaic furniture created by Ottawa artist Susan Burton was moved in and placed in its final resting spot within the walkway.

The space was a-buzzin’ with members from the city’s street department as they worked to secure the furniture in place and with members of the Princeton Public Arts Commission as they admired the pieces they have been waiting all summer to see completed.

Marcie Jaggers, a member of the commission, said it is satisfying to be able to provide Princeton with this public art experience.

“It just shows a lot of pride in our town, and we couldn’t be any happier with Susan. She was so consistent and easy to work with, and we felt so confident in her direction. We let her use that gift she has, and I think it has paid off in some really beautiful public art we hope to see here for decades,” she said.

The mosaic sculptures were hand-sculpted using a special Styrofoam. The base was then covered using the Polyadam concrete system. Burton said with this system, the pieces in the furniture will not expand, contract and crack in the harsh weather conditions.

“It’s built to be outside 365 days a year,” she said.

Colorful glass and tiles imported from Portugal were cut, hand-buffed and placed on the sculpture form along with 75 mosaic pieces that came from the community build workshop held in May. The pieces were then grouted.

Burton spent hundreds of hours creating these sculptures. She began the project on June 1 and said she was adding the finishing touches this past Saturday.

The name of the art installation is “Prairie Dreams.”

Burton will talk about her inspiration behind her work during Sunday’s dedication ceremony in the walkway. The program will begin at 1 p.m. 

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