Larimer County Commissioners approved a new sculpture to be constructed and placed at Longview Behavioral Health Center, the new facility located between Fort Collins and Loveland that will serve those struggling with mental health issues.
The artwork, which is meant to evoke feelings of overcoming adversity, will be made by Lorri Acott, a Loveland-based artist who lives in Red Feather Lakes.
Acott, who previously served as a teacher to children with behavioral health disorders, said that the project has special significance to her.
“When I saw this call, as you could imagine, I felt like it was made for me,” Acott said.
Her work, called “The Journey,” depicts three individuals with long legs, Acott’s trademark style, with a single one holding a working lantern and two others standing behind, with one helping up the other. The figures will stand on stone quarried in Larimer County, Acott said.
“I have these long legs in all my sculptures, it’s always about rising above life’s challenges,” Acott said. “That’s my symbolism in everything I do.”
Acott said that several sessions will involve the public being able to watch the piece’s construction, to be scheduled in the future. The figures, to be made of bronze, will be approximately 8 feet tall, she said.
She added that her goal with all of her work is to move, encourage and inspire the viewer, and that the three figures featured in her piece are all performing one of those activities.
“All of us, at different times in our lives, are in different places in this sculpture,” Acott said. “It’s not just about the people who need help, it’s also about the people who are doing the helping, and the people who are holding up a lantern to show the long view of what can happen for them in their lives.”
Once completed later this year, the sculpture will be on display toward the entrance to the behavioral health center, set to open this year.
“I think in this position and our role in our county we’re trying to give that hand up, trying to have that encouragement and inspiration for people within our community,” said Commissioner Kristin Stephens. “So I think this reflects not only what were trying to do at the behavioral health center, but in many ways what we try to do in Human Services and other areas of the county.”
The facility, as well as its operation, is funded by a tax approved by Larimer County voters.
The total cost of the sculpture is not to exceed $165,000.
