MYHouse unveils natural art piece near Wonderland Park

WASILLA — MyHouse Mat-Su Homeless Youth Center staff and volunteers were joined by City of Wasilla representatives and other community members to witness the unveiling of a public art piece near the Wonderland Park Wetland First Pond Thursday, July 27.

Traveling artist and MyHouse co-founder Holly Gittlein created a sculpture fashioned from tree branches with the help of MyHouse clients during a special art camp.

"I feel blessed to work with such a great group of youth," Gittlein said.

The art piece is titled, Ethereal Flow and described as an "earth healing sculpture."

During the dedication ceremony, Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford and other city officials joined MyHouse representatives to cut a ceremonial ribbon to commemorate the occasion.

"I think it's amazing," MyHouse founder and CEO Michelle Overstreet said. "It's been so wonderful to see the response of the young people… It was fun to see the group gel together. It's inspiring for them."

Overstreet said this is the third year MyHouse has hosted these art camps with Gittlein with the help of other community members such as Judie Gumm who led a jewelry class and Fiona Shin-Matthews who helped the group construct the sculpture.

"We made a really beautiful thing and we're all here to celebrate it," Shin-Matthews said.

Ethereal Flow is located within the Wonderland Park Wetland pond system, a storm water treatment project created by the City of Wasilla. The system treats storm water for the Lake Lucille watershed as raindrops and snowfall pick up pollutants from the surrounding area and enters an underground collection system where it is stored in tanks to prevent local flooding. Tank water is then pumped into the lined First Pond where additional debris settles out. After that, cleaned water flows into the neighboring ponds to spread out and soak into the soil. Gittlein said it's the ideal location for the sculpture.

"This is already a healing site,"

We thought it would be a perfect place," Gittlein said. "It represents that interdependent nature of the universe."

When it comes to the longevity of this sculpture, Gittlein said it's an ongoing experiment to see how long it lasts. She said Alaska's infamous winds and harsh winter conditions could spell the end of the piece.

"It's a sculpture about the impermanence of life. It can last six more days or six more years… It might not make it through that (weather), but that's just fine. That's part of the process," Gittlein said.

This project was funded by grants from the

Alaska State Council on the Arts and the Alaska Community Foundation.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com