Nest at South Parks Operations Building
The Parks Operations Facility along Riverdale Road in Thornton houses the Parks, Open Space & Cultural Arts departments’ maintenance crews and the Adams County Rangers. The people that work out of this building care for our trails, open space properties and beautiful parks. Every day, no matter the weather, they make it possible for Adams County residents to get outside, connect with nature, and enjoy beautiful spaces.
Nest is a 20’ sculpture made of aluminum, acrylic panels, dichroic film, Corten steel, and LED lighting. Peterson’s inspiration for the piece draws from the work the crews at nearby Pelican Ponds Open Space, Elaine T. Valente Open Space, and the South Platte River Trail, local flora, and memories of a childhood spent in nature. His sculpture mirrors the shapes, coloring, movement, and role of nests, seeds, plants, and the graceful flight of birds in nature, and the base of the piece references the shape of shovels used by parks maintenance crews.
Watch the behind-the-scenes video below to get a glimpse into the process of designing and fabricating large-scale public art.
Nest is part of the Adams County Public Art Collection.
Community Engagement
James Peterson worked with students from Thornton High School’s advanced sculpture program. Students were brought into the design process and visited the site during the fabrication process to watch the unfolding.
Students from the advanced sculpture program saw firsthand the work that goes into making large-scale public art. Take a look behind the scenes of the NEST installation process.
About James Peterson
James Peterson is a sculptor who works in various materials and subjects. His work merges sculpture, engineering, mechanics, geometry, modularity, and materials. His sculptures are intended to spark interactivity and response between the object and viewer. Peterson is based in California. To see more of James’ work, please visit artcontraptions.com.