WABI reports on restoration of Collins Center for the Arts flame sculpture
WABI (Channel 5) reported on the restoration of Clarke Fitz-Gerald’s “Flame of Inspiration” chandelier sculpture, which graced the foyer of the former Maine Center for the Arts for about two decades. During renovations to the center between 2007 and 2009 — and its transition to the Collins Center for the Arts — the 21-foot-tall, 1,500-pound bronze chandelier was removed and placed in storage. The sculpture, which will be reinstalled in September, was taken out of storage Wednesday. “Moving something like this and installing something like this and even working on it is no small feat,” said Danny Williams, executive director of the CCA. Metal sculptor and artist Stephen Fitz-Gerald, son of Clarke Fitz-Gerald, traveled from his home in California to restore the piece at his late-father’s former studio in Castine. “To use the same tools that I was trained with as a child — carving wood and manipulating metal — it is a joy,” Stephen Fitz-Gerald said.