Dogs on the Bluff ... and on the Sidewalks
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After more than a year and a half of planning, procuring, processing, painting and promoting, the Dogs on the Bluff public art display launched on July 15!
The display includes some 70 creatively painted fiberglass dogs, puppies and fire hydrants installed in uptown Lake Bluff, on the village green, in Sunrise Park, outside of the LB Rec Center and at the entryways of sponsoring businesses and organizations in Lake Bluff and Lake Forest. The art installation was planned by the Lake Bluff 125 Committee to celebrate the village's 125th anniversary in 2020.
It also celebrates hope, creativity, joy, love ... and life in Lake Bluff.
This outdoor exhibit could not have come at a better time. The dogs were “unleashed” nearly four months after the Illinois governor issued stay-at-home orders to stem the rise of COVID-19. Lake Bluffers and people everywhere are eager for things to explore outdoors – and these dogs deliver.
There’s even a mobile guided tour on the Lake Bluff Walking Tours app totally focused on Dogs on the Bluff (scroll down for more on the app!)
A limited number of the structures will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Lake Bluff History Museum. Auction details will be available in August.
Dogs on the Bluff will be up through late September. Take a stroll around town with or without a real dog to see what everyone is talking about!
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Every dog, puppy and fire hydrant has a story, and the museum has been sharing those stories on social media. Please “like” the Lake Bluff History Museum on
Facebook
and “follow us” on Instagram to learn even more about the wonderful Dogs on the Bluff.
Here are a few of the dogs and how they came to be:
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Phillip Ross painted images of Lake Bluff's flooded viaduct on “rescue dog” for Lawrence Interiors.
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Barbara Ankenman designed "Trusty" for the Village Board of Trustees using images of puppies at iconic locations, representing the spirit and joy of being a part of Lake Bluff.
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Paulette Colo created Lake Bluff History Museum’s "Tales" using images and narratives from the museum's exhibits and archives.
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Ellin Blumenthal used acrylic paints, mediums, special sculpting putty, and plastic jewels to dress up "Paradise" in print swim trunks and a white T-shirt for Forest Bluff Animal Hospital and Two Paws Up.
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Inovasi wanted something special for its contribution to Dogs on the Bluff, and Honor Beeler delivered a masterpiece named “Vincent” after Vincent van Gogh. She even created coordinating outfits for herself and her dogs!
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The Lake Bluff Walking Tours app was released in May and now has a total of four tours on it, including one focused entirely on the Dogs on the Bluff public art installation!
The tour shares stories, locations, sponsor names and artist information. This is super fun for those walking around Lake Bluff, but it is also a great opportunity or people who don’t live nearby to experience the art exhibit digitally.
The app is a mobile expansion of the Lake Bluff History Museum’s popular docent-led walking tours. Other tours include the Uptown Commercial District, Lake Bluff Camp Meeting Grounds, and Camp Meeting Cottages.
The tours are very interesting and informative! You will enjoy the stories and photos from the Lake Bluff History Museum archives, and you’ll probably learn a thing or two about our village.
To download the app, go to
Google Play
or Apple’s
App Store
and search "Lake Bluff Walking Tours"--- look for the green and blue compass icon shown above.
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You won't miss a single dog when using the Lake Bluff Walking Tours app!
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The Humans Behind Dogs on the Bluff
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In 2019, the Lake Bluff 125 Committee spent months planning events to celebrate the 125
th
anniversary of incorporating as a village in 2020. They wanted to include an outdoor art project that would be big and colorful and something everyone in the village could get behind. Committee members were familiar with public art installations like Chicago’s Cows on Parade, Lighthouse for the Blind’s painted lighthouses, and Batavia’s spunky bulldogs.
“I suggested painted squirrels,” said Jennifer Leventhal, LB 125 Committee member and a co-chair of Dogs on the Bluff with Pam Russell, VP of the Lake Bluff History Museum, and Sandie Bacon, co-president of Artists on the Bluff.
If there’s one thing Lake Bluff has an abundance of, it’s squirrels - and given that Jennifer is a cat person, squirrel watching was top-of-mind. But her fellow committee members suggested dogs for the art display, because there is a dog in almost every house, and the Village’s own logo includes an image of a canine on the run.
Dogs it was.
Pam and Jennifer set out to structure the project (more on that in a bit), and Sandie recruited professional artists and amateur artists alike to submit concept designs. She also created optional workshops on how to paint, decorate and weatherize the fiberglass structures.
Pam thought they’d get 25 sign-ups, maybe 30. When they reached 75 orders, they had to cap it off.
“At first we were a bit nervous no one would sign up. Then the orders came in,” says Pam. “We even had a waiting list.”
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Good dogs, great people! Dogs on the Bluff co-chairs, from left: LB 125 Committee member Jennifer Leventhal, Lake Bluff History Museum VP Pam Russell, and Artists on the Bluff co-President Sandie Bacon.
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To recruit sponsors and artists, Pam and Jennifer promoted Dogs on the Bluff in multiple venues, including print media, village newsletters, Lake Bluff History Museum print and digital communications, LB 125 post cards sent to homes, and via social media.
They also:
- promoted to artists and asked them to apply and submit designs that would be presented to sponsors who wanted to choose their dog’s artist
- approached local businesses directly
- used postcards, local press and social media to reach individuals, families and organizations
Sandie Bacon painted a sample dog; the original Buddy. “We took him everywhere: He was in the 4th of July parade, Ribfest, the public safety open house, the Lake Bluff Farmers Market and even went to a Village Board meeting,” says Pam.
Pam and Jennifer structured the project with a budget model where everything was self-funded so that they would have money in place before ordering the fiberglass forms. The committee decided to use Dogs on the Bluff promotionally rather than as a key fund-raiser, so sponsors could choose to keep their dogs after the event. Of the 70 some dogs, pups and fire hydrants, at least 15 have been donated and will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Lake Bluff History Museum. Auction details will be available in August.
Sometimes the project felt like a full-time job – a good one, says Pam.
“It was incredibly fun to be involved in a project that seemed to make everyone happy,” says Pam. “Since my garage was the distribution point for unpainted dogs, the drop-off point for painted dogs, the quarantine location between artist drop off and taking them to Gregg's Auto Body for the final coat, staging area for preliminary photos, etc., I had the pleasure of meeting many of those involved in creating this art - and being the first to see the finished product.”
Sandie was an invaluable resource. “She has been involved in many of these projects, and she also was able to provide guidance and recruit talent,” says Pam. “She put us in touch with others who had organized similar projects.”
“I am on the technical end of this,” says Sandie of her role in Dogs on the Bluff. “Since I paint murals and teach with Golden Paints as an acrylic paint specialist, I advised people on what paints to use (high-end acrylics) and glues (2 part Apoxie Sculpt) to make them durable outdoors). We had each artist apply an ‘isolation coat’ . . . a clear coat that makes the varnish go on consistently and allows one to take off the varnish (if there was some graffiti or other damage), and preserve the paint layer underneath."
Greg’s Auto Body
also played an instrumental role, as it sprayed every single dog, puppy and fire hydrant with a protective coat of outside varnish.
(The structures are weatherized but they are not child proof; please do not let children climb or sit on Dogs on the Bluff!)
Over the many months, problems arose, as problems are wont to do. The COVID-19 pandemic certainly threw a wrench into things – postponing production of the last batch of structures, causing some artists to miss deadlines, and contributing to the delay in the “unleashing” of the dogs throughout the village.
But unleashed they were! As of July 15, the village streets were lined with approximately 70 colorful dogs, puppies and fire hydrants.
“The dogs bring some sunshine into the world right now when there seems to be so much loneliness and dark days,” says Jennifer. “As we were getting the dogs ready to be unleashed, people would stop and ask to take pictures. Residents just seem happy to see them.”
Dogs on the Bluff will be in place through the end of September.
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