Artist Peter Shire worked
with the design firm of Cella Barr and Assoc. in the development of the re-designed
Kiddieland Adventure Playground at Encanto
Park. Shire participated in a series of workshop
sessions out of which came recommendations for the overall design of the
playground. In the context of these
discussions, Shire proposed the inclusion of a whimsical entrance piece
consisting of a series of 10-foot high concrete columns arranged in an arc just
inside the playground entrance, and crowned with an assortment of polychrome
enameled metal geometric shapes. Six
individual single-column pieces are scattered about the site as well. Shire describes these colorful pieces, which
serve as a landmark for Kiddieland, as a cross between a controlled explosion
and Mr. Potato Head, with the Arizona
sun rising in it.