Faculty Member's Aquatic Artistry Enhances Susquehanna River Walk
Published 09.26.2012
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As fall infused the air of anticipation, "What Lives in There" – a landmark piece of public art created by Michael K. Patterson, a part-time welding instructor at Penn College – was unveiled Tuesday on the South Williamsport side of the Susquehanna River Walk and Timber Trail. The 35-foot-wide, stainless steel sculpture, depicting nine fish species inhabiting the waterway's nearby West Branch, was commissioned by PublicARTWORKS as the latest in a planned series of riverside installations. Intended to artistically connect the river to the pedestrian/bike path that lines its northern and southern shores, the sculpture depicts carp, catfish, eel, muskellunge, shad, smallmouth bass, sucker, sunfish and walleye. "You were the right choice, there is no doubt about it," arts committee member Mark Murawski told Patterson. "You have exceeded our expectations." Funding for the project included a grant from the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania; and a legacy donation from Jane and Charlie Darrow, of Jersey Shore, in honor of Anne Darrow Combs, of Doylestown. In remarks to the large crowd, Patterson thanked his mother, Lee; his wife, Sarah (a graphic designer at the college); and Greg Bianchi, a childhood friend from Woolrich who helped him install the artwork on the concrete floodwall.