Riverwood Artist Ellia Knopfler Will Paint
“Turtle” Art for Sandy Springs

This winter Becky Owens painting class will have a new member, a five-foot tall turtle, thanks to Ellia Knopfler’s winning design for a ”Town Turtle of Sandy Springs”. Fifty life-sized fiberglass turtles will take up residence at shopping malls, business parks, schools, and restaurants in Sandy Springs in April 2005, as part of a fund-raiser sponsored by the Sandy Springs Society and Northside Hospital. After visiting with the community, the turtles will be auctioned. The prototype for “Sandy” the box turtle, selected because such creatures are indigenous to Sandy Springs, was conceived by internationally recognized cartoonist and Sandy Springs resident Jack Elrod.

One of the over 50 turtle designs selected was the brainchild of Riverwood senior Ellia Knopfler. Ms. Knopfler’s design will be placed at the Parkside Shopping Center thanks to sponsor Equinox. Entitled “Everybody’s Turtle”, the design was intended to represent the diverse population at Riverwood. Ms. Knopfler will enlist the aid of her entire art class to help her paint the five-foot tall standing turtle. She came up with the design for the turtle, which will be decorated with the flags of many countries and a peace sign, because she wanted to create an idea that represents everyone in the world. “I want people who see the turtle to get excited and say “that’s my flag,’” says Ellia.

Rebecca Owen, Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at Riverwood, explained that her Drawing and Painting class would assist Ellia in painting the turtle. “She plans to select the flags to paint on the turtle based on the cultural heritage of the class members. This project actually fits in our painting curriculum, as the students will be mixing paints, choosing brushes and learning about acrylic paints. Ellia will be in charge of the project and class members will rotate around to help her.”

For more information on this project, contact Judy Burkholder,
PR Committee, Town Turtles of Sandy Springs, 404-847-9245 or rcb88@bellsouth.net/  

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