‘Where the beauty of art and nature collide:’ Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum’s year-round beauty

Details on the Community Column at the Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum in Solsberry, Ind. Masse said the column stands at about 12 feet tall and is a ‘community tribute’ to thank and express how much support is appreciated at the trails--from the entire community.

By Kelly Slaven

“I’ve wondered before, if I would have seen a sculpture like one of ours around Greene County when I was a child, I have thought, how would it have changed me? Or, would it have?,” questioned Gerry Masse, the Founding Director of the Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum in Solsberry, Ind.

The outdoor museum has been one of Greene County’s very own unique and natural attractions since its establishment in 2002.

The one-of-a-kind attraction has attracted both artists and visitors from all over the world, Masse said.

The trails were only able to become what they are today through the help and guidance of Pam Brown and her late husband, Roy Kitchin, who had their own plans for a foundry and open-air museum in Cloverdale, UK.

Masse said he and other artists traveled to Cloverdale in the early 2000s, and were able to build them a foundry in just one week--much sooner than their deadline of one month.

Masse said he and the artists were able to work at the open-air museum in the UK for about 9 years, though due to Brown’s retirement, both sculptures and aluminum pour workshops would have to find a new home, or risk being destroyed.

With Brown being a 30 year master sculpture, Masse said he could not let over 80 works of art be destroyed which were made by the woman who had taught them so much.

Instead, he collaborated with interested local businesses and libraries to see if they would be interested in participating in a ‘Save a Sculpture’ program, in which four of Brown’s original works of art are rotated throughout Indiana.

Currently, a sculpture is located at the Bloomfield Public Library, the Owen Valley Winery, the Tuilip Trestle, the French Link Casino and two are located at the Sculpture Trails. The program will span for 8 years.

“Rural areas can become thirsty for art,” Masse said, “ and sometimes, when we put money and all of this time into a large sculpture, the community might forget about it in a few years when it’s in the same place. So, with the ‘Save a Sculpture’ program, each piece of art will be rotated every two years.”

Having started in 2016, the next rotation of the sculptures will take place in 2018, according to Masse.

Although the Museum in England had to close, Masse was able to bring not only the four pieces of Brown’s art back to the United States, but was also able to bring back the foundry which they built there.

A feature which is labeled as sculpture number one on the trails is known as the ‘Community Column,’ which Masse said is a salute and thank you to the community.

“It’s tying it in to the next generation, which blows my mind..I even remember one man bringing his child to the trails and finding his own piece of the Community Column, which he had worked on himself and was then able to show to his son,” said Masse. The pieces of the column are created at the annual aluminum pours which are held in the barn of the trails throughout the summer.

Masse said the museum has been able to operate on grants over the years, though next year, the museum will not receive two grants it normally receives.

“We won’t be getting two grants we have been comfortable getting, and growing slowly over the years, we have to find ways to stay at level, finding new sources of funding,” Masse said.

Annual Aluminum pours were the sole source of fund raising for the trails, according to Masse, though now various hands-on workshops and programs are held, along with tours to support the unique Greene County attraction.

Although visitors are more common in summer months, the trails are open year-round from 10 a.m. until sun down and is located at 6764 North Tree Farm Road in Solsberry.

Approximately 2 miles of wooded trails adorned with over 120 sculptures offer visitors a new experience with every visit, as Masse said the trails look dramatically different throughout the year and new pieces are always being added.

“It might make more sense to support your child if they want to be an artist in a city like Chicago, but in the more rural areas, it may not make sense. But, with this it connects people everywhere, and people don’t realize the impact art has, everywhere!” Masse said, “Just travel over seas and you will see how different art is. I’ve been blown away by the need for art here--people are starving for it. I know how I was growing up here.”