What’s gray and pink and made of recycled bike and car parts? The newest art piece in front of 7503 Madison St.
Linda Cibula, owner of Events By Cibula, created the sculpture of an elephant riding a bike in front of her business. It’s constructed from old Madison Street bike racks, retired parts from her car, and pieces of her brother’s bike that he left in her basement for 12 years.
“It’s all recycled junk that I’ve gotten in Forest Park, and I thought, kind of a tribute to Forest Park,” said Cibula, who’s been an artist for 65 of her 71 years. “Most of my sculptures are pretty much made out of recycled materials.”
The sculpture’s subject matter came from Cibula’s trip to the Guiness factory in Ireland last year. At the factory, there’s a sculpture of a fish riding a bike. Cibula created her own version of the bicycle fish and decided to do a similar sculpture with a different animal.
“I love elephants,” Cibula said. “They’re a symbol of prosperity and good luck.”
To create the base for the elephant, Rich Schauer of Schauer’s Hardware donated the old village bike racks that he was keeping in his store’s basement. Action Transmission and Automotive, located behind Events By Cibula, often gives Cibula gears and other car parts that would be thrown away. Some of those gears, and the exhaust pipe that fell off Cibula’s truck, were used to create the elephant’s trunk. The elephant’s eyes, and the flower behind her ear, are made from resin.
Cibula said that she hopes more public art spreads throughout town, and that public art like hers adds ambiance to Madison Street, which brings people and business to Forest Park.
“There’s just so many wonderful artists, and it doesn’t cost Forest Park anything if artists put their stuff out. I just think it would be fun, and I hope it starts a trend,” Cibula said. “I would love for us to move along on the arts a little bit. We have beautiful buildings and great restaurants, and you go inside and you see cool stuff,” Cibula added, “but you don’t get to see it when you’re just walking down the street.”
While Cibula has made sculptures for herself, to auction off at charity events, and to decorate the inside of Events By Cibula, this is the first time her sculptures have transgressed outside into the public way.
While village commissioners were in support of the sculpture at a Sept. 8 council meeting, they unanimously voted to amend Cibula’s use of public way application to include an end date for the display of the sculpture with the option to extend it.
Commissioner Michelle Melin-Rogovin suggested the extendable end-date of Forest Park’s annual holiday walk on Dec. 5.
“I think the idea is wonderful,” Melin-Rogovin added.
During discussion at the council meeting, Commissioner Jessica Voogd said she wanted more information about the sculpture, including a visualization of it and its exact location on the public way.
Cibula’s application included the description of the recycled object sculpture, the address where it would encroach on the sidewalk, a suggested start date, and dimensions of five-feet-9-inches tall and 32 inches wide.
“I’ve seen photos, and I love Linda to death, but I don’t deny that we could have more information on the application,” Commissioner Maria Maxham said.
Village Administrator Rachell Entler responded to commissioners’ comments, saying that use of public way applications require the applicant to leave the sidewalk handicap-accessible and to not impede traffic. Entler said that Cibula met with herself and Steve Glinke, head of the village’s public health and safety department, about the details of the sculpture and how it will be secured in front of her business.
“I understand it’s not in writing, but those are things that staff, when going out to take a look at it, make sure are maintained,” Entler said.
Entler added that she’s in the process of redoing the application for residents to request use of public way “because it leaves a lot up to interpretation. It will be easier for staff to get information to you [the village council].”
Regardless of the extendable end date for her biking elephant, Cibula hopes to keep the sculpture in front of her business indefinitely. She decorates her business, and sometimes even in front of Scratch Public House next door, for Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas — and hopes that her elephant sculpture is a part of it all.
“It was really a lot of fun doing it,” Cibula said of the sculpture. “If I make five people smile, I’m thrilled.”