Ex-area leader a champion of such projects

Sidewalk sculpture set for Short North

When John Angelo retired as executive director of the Short North Alliance in the spring of 2013, his colleagues vowed to celebrate his service to the neighborhood with a public art project.

They began to make good on that promise several weeks ago when they kicked off fundraising for Blooms on Buttles, a proposed collection of sculptures that will accent 18 planters on Buttles Avenue between Park and N. High streets.

Designed by Mark Lagergren of the South Side design firm Tork — also the creator of the planters — the vivid sculptures will reflect colored light upon the sidewalk, adding “light and intrigue to the streets,” said Betsy Pandora, executive director of the nonprofit Short North Alliance, which serves the district’s residents, businesses and property owners.

“They almost glow,” she said.

The sculptures, made of resin and stainless steel, will have an organic feel that is “unified in form and texture” despite differences in size, said Brent King, also of Tork. The public art will add a “playful” feel to the district, he said.

“There’s about as much action there as you can get from an inanimate object. It will cast a shadow in certain places, where . . . (sunlight) hits the resin at a 90-degree angle, kind of obliquely, and casts colors on the sidewalk.”

Each sculpture will cost $3,000 to $3,500, depending