A major art sculpture created by Thomas Pyrzewski and funded by state and local grants will be dedicated Saturday, Oct. 8, at St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron.

For the sculpture, Pyrzewski promotes a "recycle" message by using materials destined for landfills and recycling them into artwork resembling an organic life form. The sculpture has been installed in the center of the bioswale outside the north entrance of the college’s Fine Arts Building. (The bioswale is a natural path of vegetation that carries water runoff away from the college's parking lot and naturally filters contaminants from the water.)

Following a dedication program at 6 p.m., an hors d'oeuvres reception is planned through 8 p.m. in the college's Fine Arts Galleries.

Beginning that day, the galleries will feature a free art show of the sculptor's work. Special show hours will be from 1 to 8 p.m. that day. The show will run through Friday, Nov. 18, with public viewing hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

A second reception, for the art show, is planned from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15. The second reception will be in conjunction with the SC4 Theatre Discipline production of Fool for Love, written by Sam Shepard. That night's performance will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre. Tickets are $5 for students and seniors age 60 and older and $7 for adults.

Pyrzewski, an SC4 alumnus, earned a bachelor of fine arts in digital cinema from the College for Creative Studies and a master of fine arts in sculpture from Wayne State University. He has been an adjunct sculpture instructor at Wayne State since 2005. He served as preparator at Wayne State's Elaine L. Jacob Gallery and Art Department Gallery from 2007 to 2009. He is interim director of the Wayne State University Art Galleries. Pyrzewski has presented several award-winning shows of his artwork. He co-established Superiorbelly LLC, a multimedia art and design collective.

David Korff, who recently retired from SC4 as Visual and Performing Arts Department chair, secured grant funding for the project. Korff chaired a group from the Blue Water Arts Committee who reviewed the work of sculptors and chose Pyrzewski for this commission.

The art sculpture is made possible through:

• A $1,700 minigrant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Anton Art Center in Mount Clemens. Visit www.michiganadvantage.org/arts.
• A $5,000 grant from the Charles & Margaret Anderson Fund through the Community Foundation of St. Clair County.
• A $2,300 grant from the Community Foundation of St. Clair County.
• A $5,000 grant from SC4 Friends of the Arts.

For details, call SC4's Visual and Performing Arts Department at (810) 989-5709 or visit www.sc4.edu/artshows.

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