Susan Gott
Spring Rain, 2011

Glass, powder coated steel
Spring Hill Community Center
1000 East Eskimo Avenue

Artist Susan Gott was selected to create an installation for the newly-designed Spring Hill Community Center. The community center is in the neighborhood of Sulphur Springs, originally called "Spring Hill" in the 1920s. The center is equipped with an indoor basketball and volleyball courts, splash pad, black box theatre and offers art classes.

It was a specific request of the community for the artist to work with the children in the area, through workshops. With the assistance of Parks & Recreation, Susan Gott hosted workshops at her Seminole Heights studio, for the neighborhood children so that they could have hands-on experience creating the art that will be in their community center. With Susan's supervision, students participated and assisted in the process; gathering molten glass, shaping the glass, using torches, and learning about glass while creating forms with glassblowers.

Artist Statement
Susan Gott, owner and artist of Phoenix Glass Studio in Tampa created the hanging sculpture titled, "Spring Rain." A hanging sculpture, with a series of steel circular rings, holds large solid formed, aqua-blue drops. The physical formation of the glass involved many neighborhood students visiting the studio. As the aqua and clear glass teardrop shapes were completed and hung into the frame, the artwork evolved and took on a life of its own. The glass drops are round on the ends to create lively, prismatic and optical reflections as one walks around it. The title "Spring Rain" was a result of collaboration with the students because the sculpture resembled falling rain. Moreover, "Spring Rain" fits the Sulphur Springs neighborhood where the sculpture is displayed; and Susan likes to think of it as a reflection of the interaction with the children who will enjoy this sculpture for many years. www.gottglass.com