Broken, old fire hydrants might seem useless, destined for the landfill.
But local artists have repurposed them into artwork that will be installed outdoors beginning Aug. 17 on Grand Avenue in downtown Fox Lake.
Visitors will then be able to see the artists’ creations, which include hydrants designed to look like a Lego robot, a Dalmatian on a fire truck and a garden of hydrangeas, among other inspired works.
This fall, the public will also have the chance to bid on these three-dimensional works of art, with proceeds going to further Fox Lake’s new push to celebrate the creative side of its residents.
“It’s fun to think outside of the box,” said Donovan Day, community development director for the village, who came up with the idea to turn hydrants into art. “That’s when good things happen.”
He called the project Inspire Hydrants.
“I am amazed at the creativity and intricate work done by the artists,” he said.
The inaugural outdoor public art exhibition will be followed by more art displays, as well as a photography contest and poetry slam, Day said.
“The village is trying to tap into a creative economy — we want to celebrate arts and artists in our community,” he said.
After attending a seminar at Northern Illinois University on creative communities, he said he returned to town, did some research and learned, “We have quite a large artist population in town.”
His next thought, he said, was that “we’ve been retiring old fire hydrants, about 30 in the past few years. Some of them were too old to get parts or too damaged to be used, so we replaced them with new ones and stored the old ones in the public works building.”
With approval from village officials, Day invited artists — no matter where they live — to submit drawings on how they’d turn the hydrants into creative sculptures.
The village received 24 submissions for 12 hydrants, selected the winners in June and just received the final products, which are ready to be installed.
A panel of judges included local business members and a volunteer organization that works to beautify Fox Lake, Day said.
“I took off the tie and spent a couple of late nights delivering fire hydrants to the artists,” he said, noting that each of the hydrants weigh about 200 pounds. “I went out to Cary, McHenry, Antioch, Fox Lake and other towns.”
Then he spent the next week building bases for the hydrants and delivering them to the artists, which they incorporated into their art.
Watercolor artist Elizabeth Waddington, a McHenry resident, said she was excited when she heard about the project because it was something different and fun to try.
“The first thing that popped into my head was hydrants and hydrangeas,” said Waddington, among the 12 artists selected to participate. “Doing three-dimensional art was a challenge, but it was very fun. I really got into it.”
She used outdoor paint and liquid nails to ensure it was weatherproof, she said. For the base, she created a garden setting with bunnies, and added butterflies to swirl around the top.
Day said Waddington’s hydrangea is among his favorites, while another is the Dalmatian on a fire truck by Laura Rudkin, who works in Fox Lake’s accounting department.
“She turned the base into a fire truck with lights and a siren — and when you push a button, they go off,” Day said. “We had to get it out of the office because I kept pushing the buttons.”
Rudkin, a painter from Spring Grove, said creating the Dalmatian was “good therapy.”
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“I like the idea that this project will bring people into Fox Lake,” Rudkin said. “It’s positive for the village, and it’s different.”
Day said over the years, “we have heard from businesses that they want more foot traffic, so we will install these all along Grand Avenue, and that will bring more people into town.”
Fox Lake recreation director Amy Serafin said she’s seen some of the fire hydrant art work, and “it’s amazing.” The village is incorporating more art into its festivals as well, she said. For example, an artist at the inaugural Land and Lakes Festival in Fox Lake has created a community art project with public participation.
Next comes a poetry slam that will be held at a local cafe, Day said, as well as a photography contest of sunrises, sunsets, nature and community in Fox Lake.
“We’ve gotten the go-ahead on both of these and are in the planning stages,” he said.
Artists like Waddington appreciate the chance to show their work to new communities.
“It can boost your whole downtown area,” she said. “It gets some funk going on in the village.”
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.