Artist: Dan Skaggs (Laguna Beach, CA)
Underwriter: The Shedden Family
Dan Skaggs, from Laguna Beach, California, is a repeat artist with the art bench project. His first bench, Ode to Joy, is a whimsical curvilinear form that uses piano keys for the bench and musical notes for the upright back. Professionally, he has installed more than 200 water features and waterfalls for various clients including Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the St. Regis Hotel in Dana Point, California.
Skaggs says that, for him, "Umbrella Tree" is a metaphor for the “universal pleasure of sitting under the shade of a tree, leaning back against its trunk and looking up into its canopy.” He feels that the bench serves as a map, providing both a sense of place and a sense of belonging to its location.