New Albany Elementary gets its own bike sculpture thanks to Principal Gwynn Russell

New Albany Elementary School students will notice something new when they start fall classes next week.

They will see a brightly colored bicycle sculpture in the area in front of the school beside the plaza.

Principal Gwyn Russell commissioned the work by local artist Katie Sappington.

Named “Upcycle Jr.,” it features cycles in increasingly larger sizes to reflect the stages of growth and ends with a wagon to refer to family, Sappington said. “Ms. Russell wanted something that was kid-oriented,” she said.

The approximately eight-foot sculpture is a companion piece to one in the city’s pocket park downtown. It is named “Upcycle,” hence the “Upcycle Jr.” name for the school sculpture.

The downtown sculpture, erected this past September, is taller at about 12 feet and was commissioned and paid for through a Mississippi Heritage Hills Arts for All grant.

Its bicycle design refers to the Tanglefoot Trail and also the Union County Library’s bicycle check-out program.

The large downtown sculpture was intended to be on exhibit for a year and then moved to another city location to be replaced by a commissioned new sculpture.

The pocket park had previously displayed “Swamp Flower,” a sculpture by Louisiana artist Mia Kaplan.

Sappington’s work also appears at the Union County Library, at a local business and has appeared in Tupelo projects as well.

Sappington’s studio and Facebook page are both called Due Moon Creations.

Members of the New Albany Fire Department helped Sappington and her husband prepare the site and base for the sculpture Saturday.

Like the larger sculpture, this one can provide a good photo background due to its design and bright colors.