CHAPIN, S.C. — Driving down Highway 76 in Chapin, you'll notice something new. As of Friday, a 6-foot art installation representing Chapin's natural features is brightly on display.
According to Chapin mayor Al Koon, the artwork is a commissioned piece via a grant the town received from the Central Carolina Community Foundation and the SC Arts Commission.
Lots of hard work went into creating it. The piece is called, "Spirit of the Lake."
You can spot an eagle, a fish, cat-tails and a frog within the three-sided structure. It's also in the heart of the downtown area.
But that's not all: There's stain glass, ceramic clay and even mirrors.
"It makes me really really happy to observe all the beautiful creatures big or small, nature, plants, but especially the animals, so that's what I wanted to show in my artwork," Olga Yukhno, the artist said.
Yukhno created a vision of Chapin through art that she saw fit. She explains what was intended to take her five months of work, she had to do in less than half that time - about two months.
There was a set finish date because of the grant, and Yukhno explains that the town was having a challenging time with the site selection. She tells News 19 it was a labor of love.
"I hand sculpted all the pieces. It had to go fire, into the kiln to get fired one time, then you glaze it, then you take it out and you can use it again. Sometimes you need the third glaze, which in my case I did," Yukhno said.
Then she placed each individual piece onto the structure with a weather resistant silicone glue and grouted it.
This wasn't Yukhno's first piece of public art either. A few years back she explains she created a sail boat that won the People's Choice Award.
"When we installed it and put it in concrete in that spot and it was just exactly the way I wanted it, it was the most wonderful feeling. I think it's the feeling that a lot of us artists look for in our artwork," Yukhno said.
"Our town is really committed and dedicated to the arts," Al Koon, Chapin mayor said. "It's very visible and we've gotten a lot of compliments from folks who just have (driven) by."
According to the mayor, another art installation is in the works. He explains the town has selected a muralist and they're still working on the land easement.