This “Sidewalk Textbook” was the first phase of a public art project funded by “Project WILD,” a Schoolyard Habitat Grant through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
The eighty-foot concrete walkway depicts the lifecycles of the Monarch butterfly and the Southern Leopard frog and reads like an illustrated textbook.
Steven Ochs, art professor at Southern Arkansas University, conducted the research and drew the designs, while Gerald Taylor of Images in Concrete used an angle grinder with a diamond blade to engrave the lines. Coloring was done with acrylic and acid stains, and several layers of gritted sealant were used to ensure many years of beauty and protection.
The artist’s son, Addison Ochs, posed for this photograph.
