A pile of old granite will soon be transformed into a new public art installation on the banks of the Augusta Canal.  Artist Brian Rust plans to rearrange the rocks to into a sculpture entitled “Stone Boat,” inspired by the shape of the Petersburg cargo boats that once plied the canal. The 40- foot-long work will be located at the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area’s Mill Village Trailhead near Eve Street bridge where it will be visible from both land and water. Completion is expected in late April.

The design incorporates repurposed granite curbstones that once lined Augusta streets and will be of a scale that invites people to walk around and sit down on the stones.  Rust’s boat concept was selected from more than two dozen submission from local artists during a competitive art call last summer. 

“We hope this is the first in a series of art installations on the canal,” said Rebecca Rogers, the canal’s Director of Marketing and coordinator for the project.  The artwork is funded in part by a 2018 grant from the Porter Fleming Foundation and Heritage Area program funds from the National Park Service, she explained.

Rust is a professor of art at Augusta University Department of Art and Design, where he has taught sculpture and humanities since 1991.  During his artistic career he has created more than two dozen sculptural installations throughout the United States using environmental elements such as stones, trees and recycled materials.