Growing up at the edge of a nature preserve in Park City, Elle Donovan was frequently awoken by the calls of sandhill cranes in the morning.
Now a computer science student at the University of Utah, Donovan returned to her roots to create a winter holiday public art piece centered on one such crane.
Donovan is one of seven local artists chosen to create a piece for the Park City Snow Globe Art Stroll. For the past several years, the Historic Park City Alliance has been installing giant snow globes along Main Street to bring holiday cheer to the downtown area.
The artists all interpreted the “Winter Wonderland” differently to create “magical” snow globes with “larger-than-life detail intricately laced” into their designs, said Historic Park City Alliance executive director Ginger Wicks.
Donovan was inspired by the color palette of her beloved cranes, making her design white and gray with bright red pops of color. She also took inspiration from the brightly colored houses along Main Street to create a base for a massive crane doing a dance.
“I had a really personal connection (with the cranes) and I think a lot of people in Park City recognize them as a symbol of the local culture,” she said.
With a mother who had two art degrees, Donovan always had access to art supplies and was majorly influenced by art throughout her life. She participated in events at the Kimball Art Center, was a member of the Young Artists’ Academy for six years and loved using art as a way to express herself.
She had seen the snow globes on Main Street in past years and thought it would be a great opportunity to participate in a festive public art project. Public artwork helps build culture and serves a happy community, she said.
Although typically focusing on acrylic painting and ink drawing, Donovan enjoyed the new challenge of creating with papier-mâché, cardboard and sculpting clay to create her masterpiece.
“I think this opportunity is really cool because it gets people outside. You don’t always get to see public artwork outdoors and the seasonal aspect of it is really fun as well. Winter can get a little bit bleak and cold as it wears on and it’s hard to stay upbeat and so this is a fun way to bring the community together,” she said.
Lehi artist Rebecca Pletsch has had her work displayed in museums and galleries all across the state. Her expertise lies in large-scale paintings and 3D assemblage art and she has much experience in creating Christmas displays for companies.
A fan of the unlimited imagination you can put into Christmas installations, Pletsch was excited to take on the snow globe challenge. She enjoyed the task of creating something that would fit inside a sphere approximately 3 feet in diameter and look beautiful from all angles.
Drawing from traditional German and Scandinavian holiday designs, Pletsch’s snow globes have painted wooden figurines playing around a white paper Christmas tree under a big red arch in a little winter village.
“It’s just the idea of community coming together in the center and celebrating Christmas and that really, beautiful pure form of Christmas which is community,” she said.
Public art projects such as the snow globe stroll are crucial to communities as they make art so much more accessible to people, Pletsch said.
“Art is really the most valuable when we see it in our everyday lives. Either in our homes or in our community, because you really get to experience it and experience it with others in just everyday life,” Pletsch said. “It just contributes to your overall happiness and well-being.”
The Snow Globe Art Stroll will be on display from Wednesday, Nov. 26, to Jan. 5. Each of the seven snow globes will have a hidden silver snowflake for visitors to find and a QR code that displays artist information and a map of all the snow globes.