Arts Fort Worth unveiled a series of sculptures this fall by Alabama artist Chris Fennell along the North Beach Street corridor in Fort Worth. The project spans 3 miles from Shiver Road to Timberland Boulevard and features 12 different 19-foot-tall weathervanes. The permanent pieces of art were paid for through bonds passed for road improvements in 2018.
According to Alida Labbe, Arts Fort Worth public art project and capital budget manager, the art work is a whimsical depiction of native animals, birds and reptiles in the area. Fennell started the project in July 2017 and installed the pieces this summer.
The handmade artwork was made from locally sourced materials donated by Fort Worth residents and by partnering with the city of Fort Worth’s drop-off station at 301 Hillshire Drive in Haslet, Labbe said. Fennell made the decision on what materials he used to make the sculptures. A horse is made up of bicycle frames, and a bin was put at the drop-off station for old frames to donate for the project. Baseball bats, mailboxes, trash cans, birdhouses, lawn mower blades, wheels, shovels, bumpers, airplane wings, coil springs and portions of chain link fence were also used.
The animals featured are a cow, a raccoon, a rooster, a snake, a bird, a horse, an armadillo, a hawk, a tortoise, a longhorn, a rabbit and a coyote. Representatives from local homeowners associations near North Beach Street and the North Fort Worth Alliance were involved in the project’s planning, Labbe said.