H-F students design, build Flossmoor’s 100th anniversary sculpture

A 7-foot diamond sculpture, a symbol of the Village of Flossmoor’s 100th anniversary, now stands in front of the Flossmoor Public Library, thanks to students and teachers at Homewood-Flossmoor High School.

The fine arts students created two other sculptures for the village, so art teacher Greg Petecki said he was happy to know the village was interested in students creating another work. This would be the first project for his 3-D sculpture class since the pandemic.

The art students started gathering ideas in the fall 2023 semester. Petecki said he looked at projects done by the late sculptor Claes Oldenburg, who created monumental whimsical sculptures, such as “Spoonbridge and Cherry” in Minneapolis, and the 101-foot-tall “Batcolumn” outside the Social Security Administration Building in Chicago. The village nixed the idea of a birthday candle. The team wanted something representative of an anniversary.

Petecki had students look for symbols for 100 years and found that the diamond was the most notable. From there, the students experimented with presentation. 

“We had a couple variations of the diamond, but the committee like the actual diamond itself,” he said. 

The diamond also had a nuanced relationship with the village’s Hidden Gem half-marathon race, he said. The race’s founders donated $2,000 to H-F for the cost of the materials.

Students built a model in wood. It gave them a chance to check the scale and contemplate how they would build it in steel. It was decided it would be done in two pieces for easier transportation and assembly.

Then in summer the project moved to H-F’s welding and fabrication class where each piece was cut and welded together to bring the diamond to life. Teacher Bill Merchantz asked three of his top welding students to work on the project, and together with the art students they spent a week this summer assembling the diamond.

“I thought it was just a really cool idea to have something for the community that’s going to stand the test of time and just kind of represent the community,” said Jake Quirke, a senior. “And doing the work was fun. It was just a bunch of friends there working together getting something done. So overall it was a positive experience.”

H-F senior Chase Kral has had Merchantz as his teacher the last three years and will have him again this year. He was happy to volunteer when his teacher asked him to join the project. “I enjoy doing welding fabrication, making projects,” he said.

Other students who worked on the project were welder Brayden Reid and art students Riley Curtis, De’Asia Matticx, Mars Randle and Charlotte Symowicz.

Once the diamond was finished, Petecki wanted a professional cover coating on the piece to make certain the color wouldn’t fade and the steel would stand up to the elements for the next decade. He said Advance Power Coating in Rockdale, Illinois, agreed to take on the job.

The staff was “super excited” to be working on a school project, Petecki said. The powder coating on the piece should help with durability.

On Friday, Aug. 23, teachers and students assembled the diamond on its concrete pad in front of the library. Measurements were taken, holes were drilled, nuts and bolts were attached to make the two pieces one and epoxy glue was applied.

“We’re really excited this is for Flossmoor, and it’s something that’s going to be here for a long time. It’s a symbol in a public area,” Merchantz said. Getting students involved in a project like this “is what really matters.”

“It’s just serendipity that he (Petecki) designed this, and it works so well with the Hidden Gem. I think it’s going to be a great symbol of Flossmoor and the Gem for years to come,” said Mike Cheney of Flossmoor’s Public Art Commission who was on hand for the installation.