Spartanburg Day School

One of Spartanburg's signature light bulbs recently plugged into its new home on the Spartanburg Day School campus. The "People and Places" bulb designed and created by artist Beth Bullman Regula and sponsored by SDS is now lighting up the sculpture garden outside of the Mildred Harrison Dent Fine Arts Center.

The fiberglass bulb is one of 28 spread throughout Spartanburg as part of the Lighten Up Spartanburg public art project.

"I was thrilled to see our community come together in 2016 to help support this large scale public art program organized and executed by the Spartanburg Art Museum," said Spartanburg Art Museum Executive Director Elizabeth Goddard. "All of the participating artists did an outstanding job, but Beth Regula's 'People and Places' is clearly one of the community's favorite artbulbs, which won several awards during our People's Choice Awards, including the artbulb which best represents Spartanburg! We are so pleased the students and faculty at Spartanburg Day School will enjoy this truly exceptional work of art for many years to come."

The beautifully intricate bulb is a representation of the people and places of Spartanburg. Four folds feature scenes from downtown Spartanburg, peach orchards and cotton fields, educational institutions like Wofford and Converse colleges, images from the textile industry, a walking trail and a representation of the Assault on Mt. Mitchell. The folds themselves are formed of mesh wire and covered with fabric and a layer of Apoxie clay, representing the textile industry. Trains circle the base of the bulb and pass in front of hills and through trees as they travel to the Spartanburg Depot.

"As I look out my studio window I watch students, faculty, families and guests stop and invest a great deal of time looking at and walking around our newest addition to the sculpture garden," said Sam Mitchell, coordinator of the Mildred Harrison Dent Fine Arts Center and Upper School art teacher. "In our mission to expose the SDS community to the arts, this latest installation provides the visual power to light up creative curiosity!"