When drivers arrive at Franklin Community High School for the start of the school, they’ll notice a new roundabout and a sculpture that’s been a year in the making.
A green metal tulip tree statue now stands in the center of a new roundabout at the intersection of Cumberland Drive, Simon Road and Commerce Drive. It’s the culmination of work from 30 high school students who serve on the Franklin Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council, city officials, public artist Arlon Bayliss and his wife, Mary Jo Bayless, and Beech Grove metal fabricator bo-mar Industries, which produced the statue.
Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett emceed the roundabout ribbon-cutting, which took place Tuesday morning.
The roundabout cost $1.6 million, including the $300,000 sculpture. The sculpture was funded through corporate sponsorships and assistance from the city of Franklin, which also funded the construction of the roundabout. The new traffic circle is meant to move traffic more quickly and decreased the likelihood of accidents just south of the high school.
The sculpture itself contains dozens of shapes carved into the tree to represent various symbols related to Franklin, including a key and kite to represent Benjamin Franklin and different-sized bears to represent the Grizzly Cub mascot and the progression of students as they grow up. Other symbols, such as drama masks, a football, a paintbrush and palette, and a globe represent school life, while birds, an apple and corn represent life in Indiana.
Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council member Emma Williams, who graduated in May, said designing the symbols and seeing the project come to life made the project more meaningful for everyone involved.
“Being able to see the sculpture actually be made at bo-mar Industries, and Arlon were so inviting and personable, and they did a great job and made it more enjoyable for the whole council,” Williams said. “We felt like our work was actually going into the sculpture rather than just people just doing it on their own.”
After coming up with a design proposal at the end of the 2021-22 school year, the council met with Bayliss in January for a brainstorming session, during which they introduced themselves to him and cut out shapes from pieces of paper to be incorporated into the sculpture. That process led to a finalized design, which was sent to bo-mar Industries, where students observed the fabrication process. The sculpture was placed on the roundabout on July 25, ahead of schedule and a week before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The roundabout will not only create safer driving conditions but will also be a symbol of Franklin for years to come, Barnett said.
“It’s important to the community and seeing the kids, their minds working and how artistic they are at every project. It’s not just about the art, but it’s about the project, learning the process and how they educated themselves on how government works,” Barnett said. “We’re trying to create future leaders who know how to get projects done, and it’s just been a great experience.”
In recent years, members of the leadership council have installed a baby box at a Franklin fire station, provided relief for Afghan refugees, painted electrical boxes downtown and helped fund an inclusive playground at Blue Herron Park. This project, however, is the most ambitious 2023 graduates have taken part in, said member Shelby Gill.
“There was nothing quite this big. I would say this is like our crowning piece, and I’m glad we got to do it our senior year. Looking back on it, especially with the FMYLC logo and the year on it, it’s really amazing to see how big of an impact we left on the community,” she said. “Not many kids get to say ‘I built a sculpture at my high school’ and it’s just amazing to see the opportunities we were presented with.”
Bayliss, originally from England, is known for his public artwork in Indiana, including the “Light, Words, Life” installation at the Indianapolis Central Library, “Between Infinite Stars,” for the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, “Flight Wave” at Indianapolis International Airport and “Kawaakari: River of Light,” a 400-foot-long aerial sculpture at the Circle Center Mall Dining Pavilion. Now, this sculpture, titled “The Growing Tree,” will join those as a symbol of the power of collaboration, Bayliss said.
“I’ve done lot of projects with kids and it’s just really awesome. To see kids take something from an idea to a finished product, and for them to see what the artistic process is, it’s really, really good,” he said. “Our hope is that in years to come, the students who are now going to go to university, a lot of them will then be able to come back and see this and show their kids. Landmarks like this have special meaning for people who live there, but this will have a special meaning for those who helped create it.”
