(Seguin) — Now that the new interactive “Seguin” art display has sat in its new home for almost a week, it’s time to unveil some of the details that went behind installing the large lettering along the banks of Walnut Springs Park near downtown Seguin. Since it’s unveiling last Friday, the large Seguin letters have, no doubt, attracted double the number of visitors to the park space not only during the day but also during the night with its LED lighting.
As in the name, the interactive art form allows the observer to walk through, over or around the piece. The local project also includes a platform for those in a wheelchair.
The project was made possible thanks to the members of this year’s Seguin Area Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class. Each year, the class is responsible for coming up with a project that enhances the quality of life in Seguin. It is also the class’ responsibility to fund their own project.
Among the most talked about feature for the art piece is the bold color used for the life size letters.
Helping solidify that color for the group was Joanna Rodriguez, a local member of the Seguin Commission on the Arts who volunteered her time to serve as the graphic designer and art director.
“I thought what a fun project and I wanted to be involved as a topographer and somebody that deals with this every day in my career, I thought this would be fun. So we partnered up and we went through a couple of variations of different fonts and I explained to them what things meant,
what colors meant, different color pallets and really, we went through a lot of different color pallets and we ended up with this one because it references the ‘Seguin Brick’ so all the colors that I presented to them were inspired by our landscape, our buildings, the river, the bricks. So, this is ultimately the one they selected. I just call it ‘Seguin Brick Red’ — red orange — it’s a mixture of the brick colors,” said Rodriguez.
The location and selection of the park itself was also determined following several collaborative efforts. Rodriguez says plenty of homework went into finding the right spot for this project.
“So, we knew that we were going to be surrounded by greenery, maybe brown at different times of the year. We wanted something that was going to pop against that landscape so we took that into account as well. From the very first meeting when we talked about locations, I took that into consideration of what it is going to look like, what people standing next to it will look like. So, all of that played into what the font was, how big it was, how thick the letters were and ultimately, it was about creating something that was beautiful and that looked good in this space,” said Rodriguez.
As an artist, local resident Robin Walker justified the color choice. A color she said was perfect. Plus, she says the interactive lettering could not have been placed in a better location.
“I like the location and I like the project because it is community oriented but it’s also tourist orientated and I think anything that creates a little interest in our city is something that is good and I like the color. It’s not too bold. Orange works here because of the colors of the park, the seats, the bronze — I think it’s darling,” said Walker. “The fact that you can actually stand here in front of the word Seguin and you have this gorgeous backdrop works really well. I’m glad they put it here so, I say ‘thumbs up.’ I really like it.”
Jack Jones, the Seguin Parks and Recreation director, says the city is grateful for this added bonus to Walnut Springs Park. With the Seguin Public Library just across the street and with a new vision for the Wells Fargo building beginning to emerge, Jones says he is excited to have this extra draw to the local park for pictures and conversation.
“We love gifts in parks. That’s for sure and Walnut Springs Park, it is really an art park in a sense. You see sculptures in the park of birds and roadrunners but now, we have another piece of art in these large letters that spell Seguin and so we are definitely appreciative of the chamber class for thinking of us and giving us this public art for Walnut Springs Park,” said Jones.
Although the 13 members of the chamber’s Leadership Class each had a hand in the project, Class Member Amy Jimenez says the nine-month long project would not have been possible without the community’s support. She says it’s important to note that the group, again, did not use any city funding for the project. Instead, she says the approximately $40,000 price tag was covered through fundraising such as their golf tournament and community donors.
“A lot of hard work went into funding the project so we were truly blessed to be able to raise the funds that we did to make this happen. We are truly thankful to the community — the giving back, to just beautify Seguin and to invest in our community. I think that is really important and we are really grateful for that,” said Jimenez.
The project dubbed by Leadership Seguin as the “giant Seguin letters” officially wrapped up Tuesday during the group’s graduation dinner at the Geronimo Community Center.
Walnut Springs Park is located at 306 W. Nolte St.
