What do second graders, recreational boaters, construction workers, nurses and stone masons have in common?  If its August in Greene County, all have been enthusiastic participants in Decentralization-funded community arts projects! 

Thanks to artist Dina Bursztyn, visitors to Dutchman’s Landing in Catskill can enjoy a large and colorful mosaic sundial. Community members of all ages had the opportunity to participate in its construction and observe the work in progress, a painstaking process requiring more than a month to complete. Resembling an archaeological excavation more than an arts project, Bursztyn’s team of dedicated volunteers worked diligently over the 6-foot square with dental picks, trowels, and wisk brooms.

Young families collected buckets of beach glass and ceramics from the river’s edge, while adults and older children patiently applied grout and arranged the scavenged materials into an intricate and whimsical composition. Elders strolled by and offered words of encouragement to the hardworking volunteers.

Bursztyn is responsible for several public art works in New York, including a commission for the 170th St. subway station in the Bronx, a sculpture in Prospect Park, a ceramic mural for Plaza Cultural on the Lower East Side, and others. Catskill is proud to be added to the list of locations where her imaginative influence can be seen. The working sundial is permanently located in the small garden maintained by the Catskill Rotary Club.
 
    Just up the mountain from Catskill, the Hunter Stone Carving Workshop was in full swing. Local stone carver Kevin VanHentenryk and a steady stream of hardy apprentices were transforming two massive blocks of Catskill bluestone into a permanent art piece. Participants varied in age from young to old and represented a cross section of experience levels.
 
Equipped with gloves and masks, each had the opportunity to work with pneumatic and hand carving tools and to experiment with both granite and bluestone materials that vary in terms of hardness. Even with power tools the process is painstakingly slow and unforgiving!  Protected from the sun by a large tent and highly visible with ample parking along Route 23A in the Town of Hunter, the two-week workshop attracted large numbers of curious and appreciative observers.
 
Local response to the project has been so favorable that Hentenryck and the town are discussing making the class an annual event. To see what the students have accomplished, travel north on Route 23A to the large boulders just past the Hunter Police Station.  

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P.O.Box 463, 398 Main Street Catskill, New York 12414  518.943.3400