The Sparwood Public Library has a new art installation from a local artist.

Created over the last year, and installed in February, the glass on glass artwork depicts scenes of Vimy Ridge, the site of an infamous First World War battle in France.

“I’m very happy with it, it took a long time to make,” said creator of the art, Pat Kozler, who was commissioned to make the piece which sits about the library’s interior main entry door.

Made up of crushed glass and depicting fields of poppies and a rising sun, the piece pays respect to the memory of veterans from wars past.

Funding for the piece was through the Columbia Basin Trust, to which the library applied for funding in 2020 for a piece with a veteran theme.

Kozler, who has been working with glass for the last six years and has decades of experience as an artist said it was great there was some local art on display.

“Sparwood has a lot of artists and they’re all really great, but there’s no place to display their work.”

Library board member Samantha Batten said that the piece made the library brighter and served as a reminder for everyone to be grateful for veterans.

“It’s great to show off local talent in such a prominent place that everyone’s going to see when they come in,” said Batten.

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