Bedford High School’s students, staff and visitors have recently noticed some unusual, larger-than-life art pieces on school grounds.

Among them: a big blue chair. A red ladder. Another chair that’s also 12 feet tall.

These and other pieces of public art were created by five Bedford High art classes with the help of visiting artist Mark Ragonese of Bellow Falls, Vt. Ragonese, who is a sculptor, furniture maker and teaching artist, spent six days working with the students.

“I feel that Mark really empowers kids,” said art teacher Catherine Tuttle, who invited Ragonese to the school. “He teaches them the basic methods to build things. He actually makes you feel like you can be a sculptor. You can go home and do this.”

The outdoor art was created with wood that Ragonese and Tuttle each brought to the school.

Ragonese came to Bedford High two years ago, but pieces he helped make then have begun to deteriorate. This time, he wanted to make pieces that would last longer.

“We decided we would make some tall, larger-than-life sculptures,” he said, adding that students were creating familiar-looking objects – like chairs – that were “absurdly out of proportion.”

During the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 29, painting class students put their last touches of paint on their 12- foot blue chair before placing it in the ground.

“You guys have made something that we’re going to (share) with the community,” Tuttle told them. “Whenever you put up a public sculpture, people get used to it. They start to like it. They would miss it if it were gone, and (they) start to own it, too. You made it, but everyone’s going to say, ‘Oh, that’s the blue chair at Bedford High School.’ You’re giving a gift to everybody at school. It will be everybody’s chair.”

While they worked outside, Ragonese, Tuttle and her students also talked about the importance of public art. People go to Chicago because of the city’s public art, Ragonese told them.

People can have an emotional connection with public objects, such as the Statue of Liberty, Tuttle said.

By creating their own outdoor art, students enjoyed the opportunity to “dress up” their school, show off their artistic talents, take pride in their work, and display an art-friendly attitude for their school.

“We get to express our creativity,” said freshman Irina Davis. “We get to try different things, like different types of paint. Like acrylic, which we don’t get to use very often.”

Ragonese told the students that their pieces will have an effect on those who pass by them. They’ll turn their heads. They’ll smile. Their perception of the school will change. They’ll ask themselves who created the art.

“(For) someone visiting your school, they are going to get an impression of your school,” said Ragonese. “It says something about your school.”

Tuttle hopes that as a result of Ragonese’s visit, her students will appreciate the work that goes into creating public art, and that they will feel confident they can create their own sculptures.

“I hope that they learn that they can do these things, that they can go home and make sculptures in their backyards,” she said.

Ragonese has visited schools in other communities. He sees art as a verb – rather than a noun – and always likes to get students involved in the process of building pieces. His visit to Tuttle’s classrooms was sponsored by the Opportunities Reaching Kids program of the Bedford Parent Teacher Group.

“I’m just grateful to Mark for the spirit he brings,” said Tuttle as he created a “forest,” a sculptural installation, in the school’s courtyard. “He’s got a wonderful way of working with a crowd of people, getting everyone involved and making you feel like you can make these big things.”