Stevens Point Sculpture Park

"Blue Bower," a dreamy, nest-like installation at the Stevens Point Sculpture Park, isn't as much a sculpture as it is a place.

The first thing that catches the eye are long strands of twine tied from tree to tree, each knotted with small strips of indigo paper. In the center of the installation, constructed in a small clearing, is a bower -- its softly curving walls made of thousands of willow branches.

On Friday afternoon, as rain-soaked branches and leaves sprinkled the already saturated path of the Green Circle Trail, one of its creators, Kristin Baum of Iowa City, Iowa, put the final touches on the sculpture tying the last of the blue strips to the lines.

"It's an on-site specific, ephemeral and environmental piece. It's meant to be experienced," Baum said of the installation, which she designed with friend Tatiana Ginsberg of South Hadley, Mass.

Today is the grand opening celebration of the sculpture park, near Zenoff Park, 900 N. Second St.

A community collaboration between the Arts Alliance of Portage County, the city and members of the community, the unveiling of the park represents more than a year of work.

The purpose of the park was to create an outdoor venue for environmental arts exhibitions, activities and educational programs. The initial five sculptures, chosen by a jury made up of the 13 members of the sculpture park board, are situated along a winding path connected to the Green Circle Trail.

Over time, new pieces will be added to the park -- a 20-acre site with woodlands, wetlands, ponds and prairie -- by way of juried exhibitions, artist-in-residency programs and other events.

"The thing that is interesting to me is the range of work and materials, and the different kinds of audiences they might appeal to," said Stuart Morris, a sculptor and art teacher at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, who sat on the jury.

For Baum, making "Blue Bower" was almost a cathartic process for her and Ginsberg. Written on each of the strips, made by Ginsberg, a fiber artist, are silk-screened words: "exploration," "patience," "through," "intimate," "immensity," "resilience," "immensity" and "compassion."

The strips themselves are based on "omikuji," fortunes sold at Shinto shrines in Japan and tied to trees as a way of offering up wishes in hopes that they will come true.

Kim Radochia's sculpture "Check" offers an entirely different experience than "Blue Bower." Made from polished aluminum and resembling a check mark, it was built in Radochia's home in Boston, and has been displayed at several different venues. For her, the piece represents many things, including stepping forward both in her life and in her work.

What Radochia likes about the sculpture's latest home is the idea behind the park itself -- bringing the work into an established trail.

"Just the component of sculpture in nature is something I strive to do," she said. "All of my work is made with intention of existing the natural setting outdoors."