Craftsbury Outdoor Center Trail Art
By GRP Snow Athlete Margie Freed
Among the winding paths and weaving trees of the Craftsbury trail system are many beautiful scenes. A rock formation that resembles a bird, dappled sun on the ground from a variety of leaves, an overlook to Hosmer Lake that is almost like a painting. Sprinkled throughout nature’s art are mosaic designs that complement the world around them.
These mosaics have been made by neighbor and friend of the Center Kim Stewart. Using broken dishes and discarded glass, Kim has created quite the network of these pieces. Kim has been dabbling in various art forms for many years, using classes as a way to get started in whatever medium seems exciting at the time. Her mosaic journey began with a class and once these creations began to pile up in her home, Kim decided they needed to be seen instead of collecting dust.
Kim walks and skis the Craftsbury trails often, and passed by a wood carved bear on Upper Bailey Hazen. This bear was very well done (by former GRP skier Dylan McGuffin) but needed a little something to be complete. Kim asked the Center if she could add some spice to it, and the rest is history. With glass pieces and cement in hand Kim took her mosaic arsenal to the trails giving the wooden bear a colorful coat. While some bits of this coat are starting to fall off after many years of keeping the bear cozy, Kim has learned techniques to make mosaic art that lasts in the Vermont elements.
While there are a few larger art pieces that have been made in a similar manner of bringing supplies out into the woods (check out the far end of the North 5k ski course for the mosaic on a large rock, or glance to the side on Ollie’s Folly to see a colorful snake head on the end of a log) there are many which began in the comfort of home and then placed on trees. Kim finds inspiration in Craftsbury’s unique trail names and often matches a design to them. For example, the entrance to Dental Work features a mosaic of a tooth, Leapfrog and Peanut have designs matching their names, and you could probably guess what the mosaic at the top of Rocketwoman looks like. Kim has taken creative liberty with a few pieces scattered among the trails though, trying to feature glass chunks from broken plates with a design already on them.
On a trail she frequents, Sauna Trail, Kim can see her favorite mosaic with fine details mimicking the smoke billowing out of a sauna hut.
Take a look around while moving around the trails at Craftsbury and you might see something new!