Aug 7, 2008 By Patty Yauger 6 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – Chris Galiyas tilted his head as he looked at the pencil drawing of the dragonfly he had just drawn on the side of the Youghiogheny Glass plant storage silo. As he began to fill in the large insect with green, blue and black paint, a woman riding her bicycle on the Great Allegheny Passage shouted her support for his efforts.

“It looks good guys,” she said to Galiyas and his assistant, Brian Mann, who was adding dimension to another part of the mural.

Galiyas of Glassport, Youghiogheny Station Glass and Gallery manager Meeghan Triggs of Greensburg and Cumberland, Md., architect Steven Fiscus were the top vote-getters in a public art contest sponsored by the Progress Fund/Trail Town Public Art Program.

More than 100 local residents stopped by the displays set up at the National City Bank and Connellsville post office in June to choose their favorite artwork for the city’s north and south gateways of the bike trail.

Triggs and Galiyas will paint murals on the three Youghiogheny Glass plant storage silos near the southern trail gateway, while Fiscus will construct an archway at the northern trail entrance at Yough Park.

“We didn’t want to go with something that was predictable or something that had already been done,” said Triggs of their four seasons mural. “So we started thinking about the beauty of nature and how it relates to this area.”

Triggs said the two want the artwork to not only greet trail users as they exit the wooded area of the path, but also encourage them to stop for a closer look.

“We want people to come upon our piece and stop and pay attention to it, to get involved in it and relate to it,” she said.

Galiyas will be responsible for the bulk of the mural painting, while Triggs will work to incorporate Youghiogheny Glass-produced, stained-glass mosaic features into the art piece.

The two met as Galiyas was preparing the storage silos for the art contest and decided to jointly submit a proposal for consideration by the committee.

“I’m looking forward to working with Chris,” said Triggs. “Because of the scale of this piece, I knew I couldn’t do it on my own, so I was very excited to meet him.”

Triggs, a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, also attended the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts at Mercyhurst College and the Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow, Scotland, before joining the family business in 1999.

She was recently contracted by artist Amy Chaloupka to develop eight sculptures for The Madison Wisconsin State Crime Lab.

“This project is exciting for me, because I can step away from what I do every day and actually be the artist,” she said. “I’m so thrilled that the community is incorporating artwork and planning other art work. It is such a welcoming aspect for the community.”

Galiyas, a graduate of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and Carlow University, has completed murals for private homes and buildings, designed caricatures, posters and company logos along with painting homes, all while teaching art in the West Mifflin School District.

“I was very intrigued by the project and wanted to get involved in the contest,” he said. “And, this is the first time I’ve ever painted a mural on a sphere; it will be very challenging.”

Fiscus, meanwhile, edged out three other artists to garner the contract to build an archway at the southern entrance of the trail.

While the committee suggested the artisans consider the arch for their submissions, Fiscus said that after learning the city’s history and the reasoning behind the concept, it was to be his choice.

“From a sculptural point of view, I thought it was a good object to pursue,” he said. “The history of the town and the tie with the coke arch was amazing, so there didn’t seem to be a need to look to do anything else but the arch.”

The first coke arch was built in 1906 at the intersection of Crawford Avenue and Pittsburgh Street to commemorate the city’s 100th anniversary.

Fiscus plans to utilize steel with riveted joints for the arch with river stone, brick and concrete to be used for the piers.

The arch, too, will also have Youghiogheny Glass incorporated into it.

“There are still some things to be finalized, but we want to use materials that made sense,” he said.

Fiscus, a graduate of Oberlin College and Vermont College of Norwich University, is a project manager for Taylor Architecture and has taken part in a myriad of art exhibitions throughout his career and has received numerous awards for his work.

Public art projects, said Fiscus, have a tendency to energize a community and enhance its future.

“It helps the community as it works to redefine itself as it is moving forward,” he said.

Fiscus has a piece of art that is seen by trail users traveling the Great Allegheny Passage where it ties into the C&O Canal Towpath at Cumberland.

“I think it is a great thing for the area, and I’m glad to be involved in this project,” said Fiscus.

However, the art project was put on hold this week after the city planning commission was unable to approve the building permit due to the absence of a city code enforcement officer.

Last month, code enforcement officer Rita Bornstein was suspended after she was found by the state Ethics Commission to have violated city regulations.

A hearing to resolve the matter has yet to be scheduled.

The Progress Fund/Trail Town Public Art Program received funding from the Pittsburgh 250 Community Connections, The Sprout Fund and the Community Foundation of Fayette County to finance the projects.

The city redevelopment authority also received a $5,000 grant from the Pittsburgh 250 Grassroots Community Connections to expand the local initiative.

In addition to Connellsville, similar contests took place in five other communities along the Great Allegheny Passage including Meyersdale, Rockwood, Confluence, Ohiopyle and West Newton.

Festivities for the six communities are being planned in connection with the Sept. 27 unveiling of the art projects.