Heidi Dauphin: Public Art in Arizona
Heidi Dauphin (BFA 1992, MFA 2001) recently completed Solterra Suns, a public art project created for the City of Avondale, AZ under the Percent for Art in Private Development program. The piece is located at the entrance of Bridgewater Assisted Living at 295 E. Van Buren St, Avondale, AZ 85323.
Solterra Suns is designed with the craftsman style of the building in mind. The architects and artist involved wish to bring an art piece to the entrance way of the facility that would be both aesthetically pleasing and visually interesting for the public to view. The inspiration for the design is based on a quilt design called Mariner’s Compass. The piece consists of two large panels, approximately 5’ x 6’, that are suspended between the columns on each side of the driveway entrance trellis. Each panel is comprised of handmade ceramic tile in shades of yellow through orange with a blue background and encased in a metal frame. The panels have triangular holes cut through the design. These negative spaces allow the back of the panels to have design elements from the front carry throughout the piece and also allow natural light and shadows to play a part in the piece.
This is Dauphin’s seventh major public art piece in the Phoenix metropolitan area. She has been working in public art for the past 15 years, but also continues to work on privately commissioned pieces for homes and businesses, both in handmade ceramic tile and found object/mixed media pieces. For more images and detailed process photos of her work, please visit her blog at: heididauphin.blogspot.com