By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — The town’s legacy as a haven for artists was recognized Saturday at the ceremonial dedication of a sculpture in Pasacreta Park.

With the Saugatuck River as a backdrop, the sculpture by artist and longtime Westport resident Niki Ketchman stood solidly in its new home as a crowd of about 40 people gathered.

The sculpture is fashioned from steel rods, metal fencing and wire carefully welded and twisted together by the artist.

“It all started with scribbling in my mind,” Ketchman said, “and within that scribble a shape emerged.” 

The sculpture, completed by the artist in 1991, is called “Passage,” representing the different stages of human life, the artist told the gathering in the Riverside Avenue park.

A Westport resident since 1976, Ketchman also recognized Westport’s legacy as a welcoming community for artists and their work. “Westport has always been a town of artists, right from the beginning,” she said. “I’m very honored to be part of this program.”

First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker thanked the people who worked to get “Passage” installed. “It takes real perseverance, even in a town that loves art,” she said. “Thank you; this is fabulous,” she said of the sculpture.

In January, the Parks and Recreation Commission approved the placement of “Passage” in Pasacreta Park and a second sculpture, “Windows” by Carole Eisner in Stroffolino Park. 

The five-year budget for the installation of “Passage” is $7,250, including labor to install and return it to the artist after five years, plus insurance, and an annual rental fee to the artist. The budget for installing the “Windows” sculpture, at $32,00, is higher because that sculpture is heavier, costing more to install and move.

Not only are the sculptures on public view, both artists will speak to Westport students about their work as part of the project, said Kathleen Bennewitz, curator for the town’s Arts Advisory Committee.

In recognition of Westport’s history of encouraging all kinds of art, Bennewitz read a poem written for the statues’ dedication by Jessica Noyes McEntee, Westport’s poet laureate. The poem, engraved on a metal plaque for the installation, follows:

One dawn, a thrush will moor 

upon this sculpture’s crown. She’ll trace 

the light while it swells and pinkens —

a creeping blush —

and ponder how she might explain

a “passage” to the slumbering 

babes her eggs have borne.

How will she crystalize this

morning — the promise the night fulfills?

Clutch your hope 

against your breast, she might say;

even the staunchest metal bends.

It spills a liquid path 

for you to follow. See, 

darkness chases light. The sun 

wicks our brows. We rush forth — 

we burnish the night.

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Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.