Staff Writer
CARIBOU — What started as idle conversation about the 30- year reunion of the Class of 1979 led to the dedication of a two-part sculpture at the Caribou Wellness and Recreation Center on Saturday, July 11, that personify the celebration of life.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Supt. of Parks and Recreation Kathy Mazzuchelli extended a sincere thank you to the mambers of the Class of 1979 for the wonder and artistic addition to the Caribou Community, as well as thanking David Tardie and the members of the Loring Job Corps masonry class who fabircated the bases for the sculpture.
The sculpture, titled “Celebrate Life”, was given to the Wellness and Recreation Center by the Caribou High School Class of 1979 was dedicated to the entire Caribou community and to whose who did not have a chance to celebrate a lengthy lifetime themselves.
“It was probably the most meaningful artistic project I will ever do in my career,” said sculptor Jac Ouellette.
Under Ouellette’s artful eyes, John Hallowell and his wife, Julie Hallowell, Lloyd Penney, Mike Brescia and John Miller — members of the Class of ‘79 — meet in Ouellette’s South Portland studio assisting with the creation of the sculpture and enjoying each other’s company. Though the group was once close in high school, they had found that like many high school friends, they had drifted apart until the tragic passing of a loved one, Grace (Jepson) Brescia, brought them back together.
“Not only was Grace academically smart, she was in so many clubs and athletics and she worked around town, so when you talk about the celebration of life, that’s Grace through and through,” described Mike Brescia, Grace’s husband. “She had what the French call ‘Joie de vivre.’ She lived her life in a way that was inspirational in a very graceful, very subtle way, living life to it’s fullest,” he added.
Aware that she would not make it to her 30th high school reunion, Grace proactively sought at 25th class reunion.
“She really inspired [this sculpture] because of wanting to have that 25th reunion,” said Ouellette. “[Members of the Class of 1979] had that gathering and we continued to get together afterwards. [Grace] reconnected with some of her friends [from high school] and she was able to say goodbye to them, whether they knew it or not.”
A few days before Grace passed away, which happened to be a few days after Ouellette’s birthday, Ouellette and Grace were spending time together. Ouellette described the events of this time spent with Grace to the crowd that had gathered for the sculpture dedication at the Rec Center.
“We were just talking while she was laying in bed, and she said ‘Jac, did you just have a birthday?’ I said ‘yes, I did.’ She said ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t get a chance to send you a card.’ I told her that really, it’s ok. ‘You’re 45’ Grace said to me and I replied ‘yeah I’m getting old.’ Grace took my hand, squeezed it, and she said ‘Jac, never complain about getting old.’”
Grace passed away in October of 2006.
“We can not complain about getting old,” Ouellette stated. “We can say we’re getting old, but we can’t complain about it. We are the lucky ones, and I want to thank so many people in my life for helping me realize this.”
“I was standing there [as the statue dedication was being made] thinking how this event was similar to dropping a proverbial pebble into a pond and how the ripples keep expanding out and out,” explained Brescia. “There had been so many things that have happened since her death that have affected people in a positive way, like this, where she’s had an impact on people even though she’s gone.”
“Before she died, Grace and I had a conversation where I said ‘you know Grace, you are universally loved; you have no enemies, and you have impacted so many people,’” Brescia added. “She wasn’t quite sure about that, but certainly now, she’s looking down saying ‘I get it.’”
Subtly teaching those who loved her to celebrate life, the group of Grace’s close friends decided to expand on that lesson and had this sculpture created as a thank-you to the community that raised them.
“By getting together, we started to think of those years — how much fun we had and how much we enjoyed each others company—and we started asking ourselves why is that?” recalled Ouellette. “We were all from the Class of ‘79, we were all from Caribou, and we talked a lot about our home town and how we missed it.”
“I am so proud to be from this place, so proud to be from The County,” she added, “I defend it constantly because people don’t realize how special this is; how special Aroostook County is; the beauty that we have and the people that we have.”
“The really amazing thing is that we were able, through [Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Kathy Mazzuchelli], to be able to pull this together on this day,” Ouellette stated. “It was a discussion about the 30th class reunion that led to the creation of this sculpture. Our class reunion is tonight; I think that’s pretty amazing.”
Ouellette described the challenges surrounding the creating of the statue, describing the process of taking the cold steel and making it have its own energy and a life of its own.
“This piece was a collaboration of friends and had meaning to everyone who worked on it, and I think that’s why it came out like it did,” Ouellette said. “As an artist, you don’t know what this is going to look like until after you install it and you walk away from the piece; you say either ‘that worked’ or ‘ugh, I could have done better.’”
While the piece was created in South Portland, Ouellette described how helpful Mazzuchelli was with the process of bringing the art to its home in Caribou.
“This town, my hometown, is very lucky to have Kathy representing you and teaching you wellness and helping you appreciate what we have here in this beautiful part of the country,” she said.
Mazzuchelli, in turn, thanked the members of the Class of 1979 for the wonderful and artistic addition to the community as well as thanking David Tardie and the members of the Loring Job Corps masonry class who fabricated the beautiful bases for the sculpture.
In Ouellette’s opinion, the sculpture is going to look even better when the aquatic center is completed.
Though the coloring of the statue seems to match the atmosphere at the center, it was chosen for other reasons.
“Red is a color of energy, passion, affection, love, and it is the color of reaching to a higher lever, and this particular red is every changing,” Ouellette explained. “I chose this color, and I do with a lot of my pieces, because this red changes in the light. Like the seasons and people, it’s ever-changing.
While the recreation center continues to encourage individuals to celebrate their lives, Mazzuchelli provided those who gathered for the sculpture dedication one small piece of advice.
“For those of you who haven’t made it to the top of the hill, I sincerely hope that you enjoy your climb and take time out to enjoy your climb. For those of us that are on the hill, let’s enjoy the ride.”
Aroostook Republican file photo
Grace (Jepson) Brescia, inspiration to many for creating the sculpture for Caribou, is described as being loved by all. She was crowned Miss Caribou in 1979.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Sculptor Jac Ouellette, of the Caribou Class of 1979, graduated from the Maine College of Art in 2002. Multiple events inspired Ouellette to create the sculpture, which was made in the spirit of celebrating life and community.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Sculptor Jac Ouellette, John Miller, Julie Hallowell, Lloyd Penney, John Hallowell and Mike Brescia worked together to create the two parts of the sculpture, “Celebrate Life,” created for the city of Caribou as a celebration of community and life. The work was inspired by the passing of their loved one, Grace Brescia.
