The proposed design for a permanent public artwork honors and acknowledges the successful efforts of local Sun Valley women who have led the way for changes and improvements within the community. Reminiscent of a garden arbor, the design blends feminine identities to create a whimsical and welcoming entry to the park. Taking inspiration from legacy crocheting/knitting circles at the Sun Valley Library, needlework is used as a design metaphor to celebrate the tight-knit community of women leaders who have worked tirelessly to make Sun Valley a great place to live.

Responding to Allegheny Park’s site design, the art seeks to define the linear “walk of fame” through an embracing overhead arbor that adds volume and creates a vibrant sense of place. A series of three arches serve as the arbor base, creating a zig-zag stitch across the pathway that connects the adjacent garden planters. Translating crochet patterns into three-dimensional form, a delicate ornamental lattice of bent steel, reminiscent of looped yarn, is “knitted” onto the arches. The rigid medium of steel is used to juxtapose the arbor’s soft and unapologetically feminine form. Threaded throughout the arbor’s lattice on cable wire are colorful acrylic beads that act as prisms to reflect rays of sunlight along the path.