Richland College students at last year’s exhibit: Photo by Jennifer Shertzer
Last year’s Moonstruck at Woodbridge project — spearheaded by Lake Highlands residents James White and Mark Williamson — was such a hit that they are doing another version this year. The upcoming exhibit, Oct. 24-25 at the Woodbridge Duck Pond (Woodlake near Shadow Way) honors Texan WWI veterans and will remain on display at Richland throughout November. Woodbridge will host a preview 6-8 p.m. Oct. 23.
In October 2014, HOA members in Woodbridge — “a little sliver of a neighborhood between Lake Highlands and Richardson” — teamed with students from nearby Richland College to promote art and culture through an outdoor art exhibit aside the neighborhood pond. Richland art professors, including Vicki Mayhan and Jennifer Rose, and their pupils sketched, painted and created movable three-dimensional pieces. Richland and Woodbridge communities gathered to showcase and observe the works, and a small jury of Woodbridge residents with artistic backgrounds awarded scholarships to three students.
This year the college students are creating and installing 5171 red ceramic poppies to honor the Texas servicemen who were killed during WWI, explains Williamson. “A single yellow poppy will be created to honor the only female who served and died during the war. A portion of the exhibit (517 red poppies) will be installed at the Woodbridge Duck Pond on October 23-24. Afterwards, the exhibit will run with all 5171 poppies at the college in honor of Veteran’s day in November.”
After the exhibit’s run, each poppy will be sold and proceeds will go to Puppies Behind Bars, an organization that teaches inmates to train service dogs for the disabled Veterans with PTSD or other brain injuries.
