Three local pieces of public art—the Our Place fence at Rosemary Elementary School, the Symbol Stones at Campbell Middle School and the Swimming in Circle tile project at John D. Morgan Park—are the result of Rogers' decade-long collaboration with architect Bill Gould.

Rogers and Gould's collaboration is the focus of the current exhibition at the Art Museum of Los Gatos, continuing through Oct. 2.

"Integrating Community: The Collaborative Work of Glen Rogers & Bill Gould" includes photographs, schematics, renderings and models of 26 projects the two have done for Silicon Valley schools and communities.

Laura Bajuk, executive director of the Art Museum of Los Gatos, says the show's timing is logical given the collaborative efforts of Gould and Rogers.

"We're looking at the fact that they've done a tremendous amount of public work in that 10 years' time," she says.

As an administrator, Bajuk says she's particularly impressed that they've never had any difficulty with their pieces.

"You often hear someone complaining that they don't like the way an art piece looks, or it's not appropriate or it's a waste of money. They've hit the magic formula for working successfully with public art."

Gould was introduced to Rogers by "friends of friends," and he says that when putting the show together he was "amazed" at how many projects the two have done together over the past 10 years, while also maintaining their separate careers.

In addition to his namesake architectural firm, Gould also operates Lizard Skin Studios in San Jose, where artists and student interns can fabricate public art.

Rogers, who initiated San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art's annual Monotype Marathon and whose work is in the permanent collections of the San Jose Museum of Art, Triton Museum and Adobe, now divides her time between studios in Oakland and Mazatlan.

Even with their busy individual schedules, many of Gould and Rogers' projects have been for schools, and in each of those projects Gould and Rogers have enlisted the help of students.

Bajuk attributes much of their success to the fact that "they integrate the community in their work. The folks who will live with that artwork on a day-to-day basis are part of the process."

Students were an integral part of the Our Place fence at Rosemary Elementary School, which was Rogers and Gould's first collaboration. Originally commissioned because the school needed a new perimeter fence, Gould and Rogers decided to combine functionality and playfulness by attaching cutout silhouettes of frolicking children.

Rogers helped students trace silhouettes of each other and added figures that she rendered from photographs of children playing on the school's playground. The full-size vignettes were then constructed and cut out of steel and attached onto an otherwise ordinary fence.

The cutout figures project shadows onto the ground, an aspect of the design Rogers says she especially likes.

"Our Place is simple but lively, especially with the shadow play of the figures," she says. "It really enlivens the playground."

With the help of students, Rogers and Gould also enlivened Campbell Middle School. She says Symbol Stones, a series of bas-relief designs encircling the plaza, was inspired by universal symbols found in cultures throughout the world. Using an outdoor studio outfitted with materials donated by community businesses, students worked in shifts to produce the stones for the project.

The project was such a success that Campbell purchased some of the symbol stones to integrate into the concrete walls at John D. Morgan Park. The city also asked Rogers and Gould to create a tile project for the seat wall surrounding the children's water feature. For this request the duo once again enlisted the help of Campbell Middle School students, who designed the alternating fish and water symbols that ornament the wall.

Rogers says symbolic elements are an important aspect of her artistic vision. "Archetypes and symbols are a way to connect to something larger than ourselves," she says. "And they are a way to reconnect to ancient cultures. Symbols are simple, something everyone can relate to."

Rogers gave full rein to her love of archetypes when she was commissioned by Campbell to design a wall piece for Edith Morley Park. Essence of Water, which was not a collaboration with Gould, features steel cutouts of wavy lines and symbols derived from ancient cultures.

Her second solo commissioned project in Campbell, approved in the design stage by the Campbell City Council on Sept. 7, will be an 11-foot vertical cut-metal sculpture titled Beacon for the planned Ainsley Park Plaza. The sculpture, which will be lit at night, is intended to serve as a focal point for the entrance to historic downtown and as "a conversation piece" while people enjoy the plaza, San Jose Redevelopment Agency Coordinator Francine Principe said at the city council meeting.

Rogers plans to decorate the bottom of the sculpture with images that relate to Campbell's agricultural history, such as orchards, almonds and seeds. Moving up the sculpture, the images will give way to spirals and abstract symbols.

"The design of the lantern came out of a two-dimensional form I draw a lot, a sort of ovular shape," she says. She adds that circles symbolize "totality and oneness."

"Most of the work I do is intended to be inspirational," she says. "People can relate to the symbols I use but bring in their own ideas as well."

"Integrating Community: The Collaborative Work of Glen Rogers & Bill Gould" is on display through Oct. 2 at the Art Museum of Los Gatos, 4 Tait Ave., at Main Street, Los Gatos, 408.354.2646. Hours are noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday­Sunday. A donation of $2 is suggested. "Connecting to Nature: Art and Archetypal Symbol," a two-dimensional exhibit curated by Rogers and Kay Fontana, will be on display through Sept. 18 at Works San Jose Gallery, 30 N. Third St., San Jose, 408.295.8378.

Staff Reporter Mary Gottschalk contributed to this story.