Public Art

The walls of the Foothills Learning Center lobby are a beautiful panoramic view of the foothills painted by local artist Ward Hooper. The mural reflects many aspects of the foothills including wildlife, native plants, firefighting, and the relationship of the foothills to the city.

Ward Hooper is a native Idahoan whose artwork reflects his love of the outdoors and his strong sense of place. This mural is one of many public art pieces he has done for the City of Boise.

The master landscape plan for the Center includes sculpture in nodes in the four cardinal directions. The first sculpture was installed in the East Node in October 2008 and represents the air element. It was designed and created by Mark Baltes, a Boise artist and sign-maker by trade. His first public art piece was "Penny Post Card", an enamel on steel mural on the Idaho Street side of Boise City Hall.

Baltes' foothills piece, "Aero Agoseris" is a large-scale kinetic sculpture shaped like a native mountain dandelion. The whimsical steel and aluminum sculpture towers 15 feet above the Foothills Learning Center parking lot - a weather vane fabricated to resemble a dandelion seed head in the act of dispersal. Mountain Dandelions are a native species with a rich history in folklore and mythology.

Not only does the sculpture represent the wind, it also reacts to it. The whole top turns on a sophisticated ball-bearing system as the wind blows. And if you look on the roof of the Learning Center, the sculpture continues there with seed heads wired to the roof looking like they just blew in.

The South Node sculpture, Cat’s Face Revival, was dedicated on September 23, 2011. The sculpture and the Native Plant Garden were made possible  by a donation from the Thompson family to honor the memory of their mother, Mary Anne Thompson. She loved nature and loved spending time in the foothills. The family’s generosity creates a legacy and is a wonderful gift to future generations.

"Cat’s Face Revival" was created by Reham Aarti, a Boise mosaic artist. The piece is made of steel, concrete, ceramic and glass mosaic tile and represents the element of Fire. A “catface” is a term used to describe an old wound on a tree trunk that closes over as it heals. Fire is a common cause of such tree injuries. The tree that the artist represents was a once mighty tree that has been burned. It now springs with new life as plants and animals metaphorically take root in the foundation of the old burned trunk. The artist’s concept for this sculpture grew from her observation that fire is a strong force for change in nature and that new life comes forward in the spaces left after a fire. It is a colorful, interactive artwork that features many native plant and animal species depicted in carefully cut mosaic tiles.

All of our public art pieces are the result of a partnership between Boise Parks & Recreation and the Department of Arts & History. Our artwork is part of Boise City’s public art collection of over 100 works throughout Boise. Boise’s public art program engages citizens and artists in the design of our built environment and increases the unique character of the City.

As funding becomes available, additional artwork will be installed in the North and West nodes of our landscape and will represent the Earth and Water elements.