South Park, PA 2001

A collaboration between Donna Fisher, the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and the Allegheny County Department of Parks, the South Park Project is a series of five boulders in a spiral. Initially intended to commemorate the parents of a colleague and 3 others killed in an unfortunate accident in the Park, the work of planting the vegetation began in earnest on 9/11/01 just as the Twin Towers were being attacked. The walking path, suggested by strategic placement of various plants and accented by 60 stepping stones was iniitially accented with four stepping stones engraved Wisdom, Peace, Harmony, and Life. We added a fifth stone that day engraved, Hope.

A spiral of several planting beds contains butterfly bushes, an assortment of growing perennials and various clusters of perennial grasses. The project is a butterfly habitat designed to celebrate life and provide the community of South Park with a quiet and meditative place.