Sculpture installation for the Assabet River Rail Trail

Bicycle/Bicyclist sculpture ready for installation next to the 
Assabet River Rail Trail, Maynard, MA (2025)

Text of a speech to be given at 9:30 AM on July 19th at the dedication of a bicycle/bicyclist sculpture installed in Maynard adjacent to the Assabet River Rail Trail and Main Street, across from Ray & Sons Cyclery.

Welcome all. Our thanks for coming here today to state Representative Kate Hogan, Senator Jamie Eldridge, Select Board members, Maynard Cultural Council members, and any idle bystanders who have wandered over from the Farmers' Market this Saturday morning.  

To paraphrase a well known quote - Never doubt that a small group of people with too much time on their hands can change the world in a small way. 

Inspired by Erik Hansen's efforts to bring public art to Maynard - "Maynard as a Canvas" - which began with the 2018 murals on both sides of the Murphy & Snyder building at the corner of Waltham and Parker Streets, public and privately funded murals have blossomed on the walls of El Huipil restaurant, the Excelsior games store, the mill complex, the 'Bee Meadow' behind what had been the ArtSpace building on Summer Street, the Boys and Girls Club, and the wall behind Memorial park. For historical completeness sake, prior to "Maynard as a Canvas" there had been graffiti-themed murals on the Gruber Furniture warehouse building, circa 2008 and 2012, lost when the building was demolished.

Sculpture, not so much. Along the Assabet River Rail Trail, the communities of Acton, Maynard and Marlborough had no public art. In contrast, Hudson has seven sculptures and three murals. In August 2023, the Bee Meadow Committee - given that ArtSpace had vacated the Fowler School building - offered six artist-painted posts to Trail of Flowers. These were installed in Maynard along the rail trail on the section north of Summer Street. In addition, sculptures of a daffodil and a tulip are temporarily placed at the Marble Farm Historic Site/Park each spring when the flowers are in bloom. The flowering plants and shrubs there and elsewhere along the Rail Trail are from the efforts of Trail of Flowers, a volunteer project started fall of 2018.

In 2024, a gang-of-six, composed of Priscilla Alpaugh, Ellen Duggan, David Mark, Andy Moerlein, Steve Smith and Lynda Thayer, began having meetings to discuss how to bring a sculpture project to fruition. Ideas were bandied about: a bicycle, a person on a bicycle, a sheep on a bicycle (symbolic of Maynard being a wool factory town for 100 years), or a person walking a dog. For budgetary reasons, the group approached the Metal Fabrication shop at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School to explore whether this could be a senior class project. The school's policy on public works is charging for the cost of materials plus 15%, but not design time or labor. With the school tentatively committed, the group sought and received a green light from the Town of Maynard Select Board, followed by 2025 funding at $760 from the Maynard Cultural Council. A site was selected to be visible from both the Rail Trail and Main Street. Everything was falling into place!

Close-up of base plate

Christopher Wittmier, the Lead Metal Fabrication Teacher at Assabet Valley, had the students submit designs.  One - an abstract of a person on a bicycle - was selected as being both attractive and feasible, given the student skills and the shop's equipment. By April 2025, individual pieces were being shaped and welded together. By early June the welding was completed and the sculpture - nearly six feet long and tall - was turned over to the Auto Collision and Refinishing shop for painting. The finished sculpture was picked up on June 20th. 

Meanwhile, progress was being made on a plaque, or actually, two plaques. The group reached a decision that one plaque would honor Erik Hansen:

"Dedicated to the memory of ERIK HANSEN (1943-2024), photographer 

and artist whose concept of 'Maynard as a Canvas' sparked the creation of public art in Maynard." 

and a second to acknowledge the contributions:

"This sculpture was made possible by a grant from the Maynard Cultural Council and the efforts of the students and faculty at Assabet Valley Regional Technical Vocational School District"

A bid was solicited from a commercial sign company and the proposed cost came back as more for each plaque than the cost of the sculpture!  Assabet Valley to the rescue!! For no more than cost of materials the students used a computerized laser to etch the words on stainless steel plates, delivered on June 20th.

Concrete base, poured 6/27/25

This story is almost complete. A concrete base for the sculpture was poured on June 27th. Installation was completed two days ago. The entire project came in under budget, and here we are today!! 

Again, thank you for joining us today for this dedication event. The sculpture group (and the Town of Maynard) now have to decide if this was a one-and-done effort, or can Maynard become home to more public art. For if the goal is Making Maynard Interesting, we are off to a great start.