![Lara Ruggles](https://artsfoundtucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ArizonaArtsLive-TeriMcGill-SharkkHeartt-fave-510x382.jpeg)
Mark Abildgaard
Category: Artist/Individual
Discipline: Public Art
Program Affiliations: Artist Roster
![](https://artsfoundtucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Mark-Abildgaard-copy-1-scaled.jpg)
I am interested in creating site specific sculptures for public art projects that bring glass into environments where the interaction with natural light is possible. Light and glass in combination can create an ever changing visual experience for viewers that may encounter the work on a daily basis. By using steel and cable structures to suspend glass elements I am able to design sculptures for almost any space. My goal is to create artwork that can enhance the visual environment and uplift the spirit of the people who view it.
![](https://artsfoundtucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Granary-Mark-Abildgaard-scaled.jpg)
Granary is a stainless steel sculpture that has over 200 individual blown glass acorns in a wire basket suspended over a walkway in a public park.
![](https://artsfoundtucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Fire-Rainbow.jpg)
The inspiration for this sculpture is a rare meteorological event known as a Fire Rainbow. This can occur when the water droplets in a cumulous cloud are hit by sunlight at an angle which creates a rainbow in the shape of the cloud. The blown glass elements in this sculpture are suspended on steel cable. The colors in the glass elements are arranged in the order found in a rainbow.
![](https://artsfoundtucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tree-of-Life-Mark-Abildgaard-scaled.jpg)