Lost Pines Art Center And Commemorative Sculpture Garden Reach Significant Milestone; More Than $3 Million In Donations And Pledges

BASTROP, Texas, Nov. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bastrop Fine Arts Guild announced Wednesday that the Lost Pines Art Center and Commemorative Sculpture Garden has secured $3.1 million in donations and pledges, guaranteeing the project will move forward. The guild will continue to solicit donations for the remaining $500,000 needed for the $3.6 million facility.

"Thanks to a major donation that Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative helped obtain from the settlement of the Bastrop wildfires litigation, a grant by ArtPlace America and hundreds of other significant donations from individuals, foundations, organizations and businesses, this incredibly meaningful art center will be built," said Karol Rice, Bastrop Fine Art Guild board member and project director for the Lost Pines Art Center and Commemorative Sculpture Garden. "This project would not have gotten off the ground, much less to this point, without a lot of hard work. The art guild is thankful for the donors' remarkable generosity and support from the community."

The Lost Pines Art Center and Commemorative Sculpture Garden will reflect Bastrop County and its residents by combining progressive ideas and art with historic architecture and culture. The new 12,000-square-foot art center will house state-of-the-art exhibit space, classrooms, a coffee and wine bistro and retail space for art-related businesses. The project will also renovate four 100-year-old silos that were part of the historic Powell Cotton Seed Mill. Three silos will be used as studios – one each for pottery and glass, and one for metal, wood and stone carving. The fourth silo will be converted to an apartment for an artist in residence, who will exhibit his or her art and teach classes and workshops for local artists.

Perhaps the most unique feature on the art center's 1.25-acre site near downtown Bastrop will be a commemorative sculpture garden with a special focus on the Bastrop County wildfires that burned more than 34,000 acres and 1,600 homes and businesses, many of which belonged to local artists who lost their work and studios.

"Clearly the 2011 Bastrop Complex wildfire was a significant event in our county's history," said Mark Rose, Bluebonnet's general manager. "Equally significant have been the remarkable recovery efforts in which so much of our community has participated. The Lost Pines Art Center and Commemorative Sculpture Garden will be a thankful place, a place of reflection and a place for expressing the true beauty of our community. Art inspires us not only to embrace our past, but also to envision our future."

Rice said she expects the Lost Pines Art Center and Commemorative Sculpture Garden to be completed in late 2016, and open to the public in early 2017. For more information on the project or to donate, go to bastropfineartsguild.com.

The Bastrop Fine Arts Guild is an association of artists that was formed for the mutual aid and promotion of artists in the Lost Pines community. It serves to encourage cultural interests in and appreciation of fine art.

Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of the largest electric cooperatives in Texas and has been serving its members since 1939. Bluebonnet serves more than 86,500 meters in Central Texas. Its headquarters are in Bastrop County. For more information about Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, go to bluebonnet.coop and follow the co-op on Facebook and Twitter.

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SOURCE The Bastrop Fine Arts Guild

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http://www.bastropfineartsguild.com