A colourful new public art project is landing in Moose Jaw this summer, thanks to a collaboration between the Northwest Community Association, the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery (MJMAG), and the City of Moose Jaw.
By late August, a large-scale butterfly mosaic sculpture will be installed near the corner of Thatcher Drive and Simcoe Street, where the paved trail and playground meet in Spring Creek Park.
The piece, designed and constructed by Moose Jaw artist Grant McLaughlin, will feature 200 to 300 handmade ceramic tiles created by children from four local elementary schools and MJMAG’s summer youth programs.
“We made every single tile by hand,” said Christy Schweiger, education co-ordinator at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery.
“We’ve been decorating them with local flora and fauna — things like beavers, fish, ladybugs, butterflies, milkweed — and every child who painted one signed it with their initials.”
Students from Lindale, St. Michael, St. Agnes, and Palliser Heights schools contributed to the project during the final weeks of the school year, with additional tiles coming from MJMAG’s July art camps.
The sculpture itself is being constructed using a base of rebar and chicken wire, reinforced with layers of cement. Once the base is cured and in place, volunteers will help apply the finished tiles in a pattern designed to mimic the colours of a monarch butterfly.
Each tile has been fired twice in the museum’s kiln and will be sealed with a clear weather-resistant topcoat once installed. The final piece is intended to remain a permanent feature of the park.
“It’s very much like Terra the Turtle in Wakamow or the maple leaves in Crescent Park,” Schweiger said. “Something kids can come back to with their families in five or ten years and say — hey, I made that one.”
The work is being funded through a City of Moose Jaw community grant and coordinated by the Northwest Community Association.
There’s no official unveiling ceremony scheduled yet, but there will be one. Schweiger said the timing will depend on construction and weather conditions. Installation is tentatively set for the third or fourth week of August.
The sculpture will be visible from both the playground and trail, inviting park-goers to take a closer look and maybe even spot their own tile among the wings.