After two years of planning, Reagan Word’s “Village Treasures,” a sculpture 13 feet tall, 16 feet long and 9 feet wide, has been installed at the Jacks Canyon Road Verde Valley School Road roundabout on State Route 179 in the Village of Oak Creek.
“The sculpture is designed to present some of the aspects we all love about the Village of Oak Creek, Word said. “I hope it’s just a welcome to visitors, and if they can get a moment of delight or amusement out of it, all the better.”
The fabrication was done by Metal Pro, based in Phoenix, and it is constructed of weathering steel and highlighted with stainless steel cactus blossoms anodized in a rich cadmium yellow, the piece features a prickly pear cactus with two hummingbirds feeding on its blossoms.
“The three cactus pads have inserts, Word said “One of them is a relief of Bell Rock and some yucca plants. The other is the juniper trees that we love, and the other one is a coyote. All of these things are symbols of what we love about living here.”
“Village Treasures” joins Word’s portfolio of local public installations, which includes “Open Gate” at the Schnebly Hill Road roundabout and the “Eagle Dancer” pair in Uptown at the Owenby Way and Jordan Road roundabouts on State Route 89A
“It’s wonderful to have it well received and see it up there” in the VOC, Word said. “You always have the concept in your mind, but you never know how it’s going to turn out until it’s out there. With this piece I did a little clay doodle to begin with and then from that I’m moving into a 3D modeling program
“I could see how it was going to look when you drove into town, or when you were coming out Jacks Canyon Road, or coming out from Verde Valley School Road, or going south on [State Route] 179 I knew what it was going to look like, and I could adjust it accordingly.”
The final touches for the roundabout should come later this month, according to Word.
“We’re going to add some flowering plants around the perimeter and then put crushed granite over the base,” Word said. “We didn’t want to do anything before it was positioned because we knew that it’d probably get damaged during installation”
In 2022 the Art in the Roundabouts project began as a partnership between a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Sedona Village Main Street Partnership, with the ownership and maintenance tasked to the Red Rock Road Enhancement Maintenance District, a special taxing district formed by Yavapai County government.
Village of Oak Creek philanthropists Rob and Alix Schaefer fully funded “Village Treasures” through a donation of $110,000.
“The generosity of the committee members with the different committees and their enthusiasm and just general encouragement from family and friends. has been very meaningful and kept me going,” Word said.
