THE PROJECT: The placement of uniquely decorated fiberglass frogs will decorate the sidewalks of downtown East Moline, Illinois during the summer of 2003. Each Frog base will have a plaque prominently displaying the name of the Artist and the Sponsor. Frogs will be on display from their installation in late May or early June through Labor Day. The project will attract residents and visitors to downtown East Moline for several months, along with events such as the Fun Fest and the Firecracker Run.

THE FROG: Frogs were chosen by the Centennial Committee because of the early history of the town being developed along the Mississippi River and the abundance of frogs in the low-lying areas. The Frog is made of fiberglass and is cast from a mold. Cow Painters of Chicago designed the frog and will produce them. They will stand 42" high, 48" deep and 42" wide. It will be mounted on a 300lb. concrete base.

THE AUCTION: After Labor Day all Frogs will be removed, washed and prepared for a gala auction that will be held on September 21st at Short Hills Country Club in East Moline, Illinois. All proceeds from each Frog's sale will go to a local non-profit organization or agency.

I submitted two designs to the East Moline Centennial Committee during a call for entries. The first design selected for the project was my Metallic Mosaic.

"Big Fella", as I affectionately refer to him, took nearly 160 hours to complete. Metallic, Vitreous Glass mosaic tiles were my medium of choice for this frog. My design intent was to create a frog that resembled a glass-embedded sand sculpture. Over 30 pounds of tiles (approximately 10,000 individual tiles) were hand broken and applied individually over a period of a month and a half. Grout and sealer were applied, and the frog was then delivered for clearcoating and mounted on his cement base. He will be on display at the sponsors facility, located in downtown East Moline.

Being one of only two full time professional artists involved in the project, I was honored to have been selected not only to create two frogs for the project, but to also be chosen as the representative for all artists and crafters involved in the project during the Fourth of July East Moline Parade, where the Frogs-A-Hoppin' were highlighted and on full display.

Much publicity has been given to this event locally, and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to interview with Quad City Life & Times, which aired locally on our public broadcasting station, WQPT.

View streaming media from a local public television broadcast.

My "Frog Log" page featured in local media which includes the design images (www.intricateart.com/frog.htm). (which leads to individual pages for each frog with several work in progress graphics)

"Swampy" was my second design submitted, sponsored by a local resident of East Moline. The proceeds from the sale of this frog have been pre-determined, and will be directed to Chad Pregracke, local resident and founder of Living Lands and Waters (http://www.cleanrivers.com).

Swampy was submitted and selected just prior to the Fourth of July deadline. I completed him over a two-day period, totaling about 20 hours of non-stop painting in acrylics. This was a fun design, as my intent was to have the buyer not only buy a nicely decorated frog, but a self-contained swamp. He has a different animal on each side, indigenous to our local swamp and marshlands. Dragonflies flutter in the air above a beautiful Egret on his back, a painted turtle on his left, beaver on his belly, and bullfrog on his right side. This frog has by far exceeded the expectations in publicity for the project, and remains the "talk of the town" since he mysteriously disappeared from his favored swamp locale to his permanent summer home at the Quad City Botanical Center.

The gala auction will be held on September 21, 2003 at Short Hills Country Club, where I will participate in an invitation-only Artists Reception and Public Auction. I look forward to the results of this event, being witness to the success of the project and significant charitable contributions that will take place during an exciting day is something I will not likely forget!