Solana Beach community asked for input on proposed art piece for Rail Trail

Solana Beach could soon have a new public art piece.

Community members are encouraged to give their input on the proposed piece for the city’s Coastal Rail Trail. Sponsored by the Solana Beach Civic and Historical Society’s Seaweeders Garden Club, the piece would transform a dead Torrey pine into a lively piece of public art.

If approved, local woodworking artist Tim Richards would carve a pelican, fish and kelp into the stump.

“I got this idea of having a pelican swimming on top of this log,” explained Richards, who came up with the concept. “All around it would be like a water scene with local surf fish and kelp.”

An Encinitas resident, Richards recently carved a Torrey pine stump in Del Mar into the “Sunset Seat,” a wooden bench with an attached red-tailed hawk. In 2011, he carved his first public piece, turning a beetle-damaged Torrey pine into a tiki head statue at Swami’s Beach in Encinitas.

“This would be my third one visible from the Coast Highway,” he said. “That’s three right in a row — Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar. That’s pretty cool.”

A 30-day public review period for the project and its design is open through Aug. 11.

For information or to submit a comment, contact Anita Edman at 858-720-2454.