Cherry Blossom Award

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I am pleased to announce the completion of this year’s, uniquely beautiful Pawtucket Foundation awards which will be presented on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, by the Pawtucket Foundation as they hold their 7th Annual Awards Celebration Dinner at the Pawtucket Armory Center for the Arts. It is the Pawtucket Foundation’s intention to celebrate four special people in the community that have really worked hard to make good things happen here in Pawtucket, RI. This year the Pawtucket Foundation also celebrates its first annual Cherry Blossom Festival in conjunction with its annual awards dinner. With this in mind Thomas Mann, the

Foundation’s Director, felt that the awards should reflect this celebration.

My inspiration for the creation of this award derived from a Chen Chi print that my parents had a copy of in their home, where I grew up. This print was a series of four pieces reflecting the four seasons.

This year the Foundation will be presenting awards to four individuals in the community. This inspired me to shape the awards so that they would fit together as a whole piece and yet they stand alone as individuals. The awards will only have one night to be displayed altogether before they take root around the city of Pawtucket.

How the Awards were Created

Whenever possible I like to use recycled and reclaimed materials. I thought that using coca-cola cans to create the cherry blossoms would make them beautiful from both the front and the back. I like the idea of not disguising what they are. The metal that I chose to use to create the tree trunk and branches, is steel with patina used to give the appearance of an actual tree surface.

Also, in choosing my materials for this project, I wanted to add something that was associated with or an actual piece of Pawtucket and its rich history, so I created the frames using reclaimed lumber from a renovated mill here in Pawtucket.

It is with great pleasure, honor and pride both in my heart and in my appreciation for my surrounding community that I have created these awards which will be presented to four very deserving and amazing individuals.