WEST RUTLAND—The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center dedicated a bench as part of a public artwork project, Sunday, Oct. 18, at the Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC). The dedication ceremony was part of the VFFC bocce tournament and All Things Apple celebration. The stone bench will be installed for one year at the Vermont Farmers Food Center on West Street in Rutland. Led by master sculptor Nora Valdez, a team of teen carvers created the bench with an agricultural theme this past summer. The group included Olivia Gaissert, Nolan Hilliard, Lilly Krupp, Rosanne Krupp and Joseph McDonnell.
The Stone Bench Project is a Carving Studio and Sculpture Center program that began in Ayacucho, Peru, during January 2009. Subsequent years have seen further development of opportunities for Rutland area teens to connect with their region’s cultural heritage. Teamwork is built as students cooperatively develop a theme, produce a scale model in clay and carve the limestone blocks.The finished benches are given to partnering municipalities for placement in the community.
