Almaden Resident

Community

Artists collaborate on designs for memorial honoring school librarian

By Sarah Holcomb

The San Jose Public Art Commission dodged a tough decision last week when a group of students who were proposing separate projects for the Doris Dillon memorial in Almaden Valley decided to work together to create a single piece.

The three projects students from the San Francisco Academy of Art presented on April 18 will be combined and installed as one work at the new Almaden Branch Library and Community Center in honor of Dillon. The beloved Almaden teacher and librarian encouraged thousands of children to read.

As part of their project research, the students canvassed Almaden Valley, gathering as much information about Dillon, who died Aug. 21, 2001, as possible in order to create art pieces that would pay proper tribute to her.

Rocks will be more than likely a large part of the piece. Those who knew Dillon said she could "teach a rock to read."

One of the proposals featured eight large stones, each representing a part of speech in the English language. A decorative ribbon would be engraved on each stone and inside the ribbon shape would be words from that part of speech that reflected Dillon's life and career. The engraved words would allow patrons to create rubbings and form sentences with the different parts of speech.

Another element presented in one of the proposals included a circular seating area ideal for storytime. The top of the concrete bench would be purple, which was Dillon's favorite color, and the inside of the bench would be a word puzzle similar to a word search. Inside the puzzle, patrons would find words that relate to Dillon and her career.

The third proposal featured an eye-shaped sitting area, which represents the human tool for reading.

The students will present the final proposal to the committee next month.