Earth Turtle at Orton Park

March 20, 2012 - June 21, 2012

A larger than life turtle is making an appearance at the corner of Spaight and Ingersoll Streets in Orton Park on Madison's East side. "Earth Turtle," created by local artist Timothy J Sprengelmeyer, is a three and a half foot by two and a half foot steel sculpture that stands about three feet tall. In keeping with Madison's values of sustainability and recycling, Earth Turtle is constructed of 100% reclaimed materials. Sprengelmeyer chose the idea of a turtle because of its symbolic relationship to the Earth, explaining in his proposal, that Native Americans used the turtle shell as a calendar before our modern calendar. The turtle shell has 13 main segments on its shell which represent the cycles of the moon and 28 smaller segments around the perimeter of the shell that represent the days in each moon cycle. The turtle truly kept them rooted to Earth by telling them when to plant their crops and hunt for food. Earth Turtle was created at a nonprofit community workspace known as Sector 67. Local businesses Seventh Generation Energy Systems, Findorff Construction, Budget Bicycle Center, and Willimason Bicycles donated items used in Earth Turtle's construction. Mt Horeb Kinetic sculpture artist John Lash also donated items used in this sculpture's construction. Sector 67 member Paul Larson donated materials and metal artist Jason Scott provided some consulting. The remainder of Earth Turtle's components were purchased from local St. Vincent De Paul and Goodwill stores. "Earth Turtle," a Blink temporary public art project, is funded from the City of Madison through the Madison Arts Commission.

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