Visitors to the Greensburg Art Center will encounter a large sculpture depicting a color wheel to the right of the street-side door.
The metal-and-mosaic piece is a memorial to the late Cathy Rosensteel, a longtime member artist and popular teacher who died of covid-related complications on Nov. 1, 2020.
“Everyone who has known Cathy or taken a class with her relates to the color wheel representing her,” said center Vice President Rosemary Sovyak. “It was known throughout the years that, when Cathy would teach her classes, she would always start with introduction to the color wheel.”
The color wheel organizes different hues around a circle to show the relationships between primary, secondary and tertiary colors.
Rosensteel was scheduled to teach a new round of classes when she died within about a week of falling ill. Her passing left a void not just in the center’s schedule but also in its general atmosphere.
“She brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to her painting and to her support for other painters,” said Nancy Dalverny, the center’s education coordinator.
That enthusiasm was a big contributor to the center’s growth, she added.
“She was so immersed and passionate about art, and eventually she had quite a following. She never lost that,” Dalverny said. “Her influence is still pretty broad. A lot of students who started with her are continuing with other teachers.”
When the idea of a memorial to Rosensteel first came up, “we all unanimously said ‘color wheel,’” Sovyak said.
Sovyak, who teaches mosaic classes at the center, worked on the design and execution with fellow members Gary and Ginger Hepler of Vandergrift. They consulted with a Pittsburgh mosaic artist on materials needed for an outdoor installation.
“We combined our talents to produce it,” Sovyak said.
Gary Hepler fabricated the metal base and frame for the piece, crafting the frame in the shape of a capital “C,” representing “Cathy.” Sovyak and Ginger Hepler assembled the mosaic.
“If you look at a color wheel, it’s not just the primary colors — it goes into different shades of blue, blue to green, from yellows into oranges,” Sovyak said. “Ginger did a lot of investigation into finding shards of glass that aren’t quite orange, but are moving into the realm of red, and pieces that aren’t quite blue, but are moving into green.”
Glass shards for the wheel were sourced from Youghiogheny Glass in Connellsville. It took about six weeks to complete with the artists working in their spare time at the Heplers’home.
The sculpture was dedicated in September 2021 during a week of art activities held in Rosensteel’s honor.
