I couldn't help but see the large scale Mariposas on a recent trip to Sunny Isles. Mariposas, which…read moreis the Spanish word for butterflies is a stainless steel 18 foot high head crowned with butterflies. It was purchased for 1.6 million dollars by J. Milton & Associates, a Miami real estate development company since 1963. Mariposas stands in front of the Milton Tower, a 14-story office building near NE 163rd Street and Collins Avenue. This artwork is part of Sunny Isles Beach's Cultural Master Plan, which was created in 2017 to bring more art to the city. Developers who apply for building permits of any size in Sunny Isles Beach are required to contribute an art piece valued at least $500,000. Mariposas was created by Spanish artist Manolo Valdés known for his style that combines art with history. Valdés has been featured in many museums and galleries. His pieces are displayed in Valencia, Spain; Place Vendome, Paris; Berkeley Square, London; Taipei, Taiwan and Dubai and now in Sunny Isles Beaches. Valdés is an internationally known artist and his work is supposed to represent multiculturalism in the city. I was really drawn the playfulness of this piece. It is very eye catching and fun to photograph at different angles.

I have been eagerly awaiting the installation of this public art piece and it is finally here. This…read morelarge, 8,000 pound bronze sea turtle statue was created for Dania Beach by environmental artist and conservationist Robert Wyland who was born in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan. He is most well known for his large outdoor murals, a series of 100 Whaling Walls throughout the country and world to spotlight the fragile ocean ecosystem. J. Milton and Associates as part of the City of Dania Beach's public art program, commissioned Wyland to create a sculpture of a Florida green sea turtle and the colorful reef fish and coral that are part of Florida's living reef. The sculpture was built over eight months and then shipped to Dania Beach. This turtle sculpture is part of Wyland's global public art project, which focuses on representations of marine life. Other Wyland pieces from this project are in Beijing, China and Hoonah, Alaska. This green turtle is swimming in front of Sea View Luxury Rentals. The pictures do not do this beautiful piece justice. I have been a long time Wyland fan and have visited several of the Whaling Walls. I love how this sculpture brings awareness to green sea turtles. They are the largest of the hard shelled turtles and are unique because they are herbivores with a diet consisting of sea grass and algae. Green turtles are found around the world but their numbers have declined as they have been used for their meat and eggs. They have also lost nesting habitat due to coastal development. They are listed as an endangered species.

Let LOVE Guide Your Way is a kinetic public art piece by artist Lloyd Goradesky. You can find the…read morebright red sculpture in Arts Park across from city hall. Let LOVE Guide Your Way is a weathervane that stands 16 feet high and weighs 5,000 pounds. Artist Lloyd Goradesky chose a weathervane for this art piece because it is a device used to measure the direction of the wind. It is also a metaphor to describe people who change their views frequently. When you are faced with a dilemma in a chaotic world, let love guide your way. Let LOVE Guide Your Way was first displayed at the 2019 and 2021 International Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium. I love the movement of this piece and how it celebrates kindness and the message of universal love. Mr. Goradesky is currently working on even a larger weathervane for the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel to celebrate the friendship between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the American Nation.

The Foster Park Plaza is located across the street from Foster Park. Both the park and the plaza…read morewere named in honor of the Hallandale Beach's first mayor, Foster Ingalls. He first served as Hallandale Police Chief from 1938-1943 and as mayor from 1950-1958. When creating this plaza the city asked for community design input. Foster Park Plaza opened on December 16, 2017. This linear park has benches, a stage, walking path, and colorful murals painted on a wall. Other park features include native landscaping, pedestrian lighting, benches, solar trash bins, a water fountain, and a flag pole surrounded by military medallions. My favorite part of this park is the multiple murals which is part of the city Mural Art Project. The murals add a vibrant energy to the park and represent the community that lives here. They also make a great backdrop for pictures.

The City of Sunny Isles has a robust public art program. You can find this eye catching abstract…read morepurple sculpture in Town Center Park alongside the walking path in the park that runs parallel with Collins Avenue. Rising Horizons was created in 2005 by artist Rafael Barrios. Barrios was born on November 22, 1947 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was raised in Venezuela, before going on to study at New York University. Today he lives and works in Miami, FL and Caracas, Venezuela. His works are found in the collections of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Of his artwork Barios has said "Art without audience does not exist. No matter what you build in your life, it's a public act." Rising Horizons is an example of Barios large scale, brightly colored pieces designed to make them appear as if they are defying gravity. This one is made of stainless steel and covered with epoxical violet purple airplane paint. I love how this sculpture adds a pop of color and interest to the park. .

Totor is a 8 foot high sculpture of a Jack Russell Terrier who looks quite fetching. He was created…read moreby French artist Stéphane Bolongaro who modeled it on his mother's pet terrier Totor. Stéphane Bolongaro is a former North Miami Beach gallery owner. In 2016 Totor was the featured piece in Mr. Bolongaro's art exhibition in Monaco that was hosted by Prince Albert II. In August 2017, Stéphane Bolongaro launched a second exhibition of Totor at the Promenade du Paillon in Nice, France. There is also a Totor sculpture in North Miami in front of City Hall. Totor is meant to represent the qualities of love, friendship, and loyalty. I personally love Totor because I have a special love for Jack Russells. This adorable version of Totor is skateboarding and carrying a surfboard. You can find him in the ArtsPark that opened last summer after he was donated to the city by Mr. Bolongaro who deserves a round of apaws for his contribution.

Behind the administration center at Tree Tops Parks in Davie at the entrance to the hiking trails,…read moreis this life size bronze statue of Sam Jones who was also known by his Seminole name, Abiaka. There is also an identical statue located at the entrance of the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum. The statues are by Bradley Cooley Sr, and Jr. Together, the duo have made over 40 life-sized sculptures for the Seminole Tribe of Florida along with dozens of busts, tabletop sculptures, and other smaller works. Sam Jones was a famous leader and medicine man during the Second Seminole War. He fought against the US Army in the bloodiest battle of the war, the Battle of Okeechobee. After the battle he led the remaining 200 or so members of his tribe here, in the Pine Island Ridge, the highest natural elevation in Broward County. They were able to hide out from the US Government who were trying to send them on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma under the Indian removal policy. This statue depicts him leading his people to safety. This statue was created in 1995 and added to the park after a statue of Major William Lauderdale was added to the ridge. The city of Fort Lauderdale was named after him and he was tasked with rounding up the Seminoles and removing them from the area. People felt it was only fair to represent both sides of the conflict.

Looking Forward is a mural by Ernesto Maranje. You can find it on the City Hall Parking Garage in…read morethe Dania Beach Arts Park. The mural was created in 2024 using aerosol and house paint. I was already fan of Ernesto Maranje work from murals he completed in Ft. Lauderdale. Hollywood, and Miramar. Maranje is a Cuban-American artist born in Chicago, Illinois in 1983 and raised in Miami, Florida. He discovered his interest in art at 27 while serving in the Coast Guard. The subjects of his murals focus on flora and fauna, biological evolution, and plant and animal relationships. Maranje has created murals all over the United States and abroad. This mural is stunning. Maranje said the mural was inspired by the local plants and animals of South Florida. It features all of my favorite animals from the Everglades. The focal point is a Florida panther which is surrounded by an American alligator, roseate spoonbill, red-shouldered hawk, great blue heron, osprey, great egret, royal tern, and more. This colorful mural brings attention to the diverse fauna and flora of the Everglades and serves as a beautiful backdrop for Arts Park.

Major Lauderdale arrived in the area that is now Ft. Lauderdale on March 5, 1838 at the request of…read morehis friend and neighbor in Tennessee, President Andrew Jackson. Jackson wanted Lauderdale to remove members of the Seminole tribe who had been driven south from their original territory of Georgia. He hoped to make Florida safer for settlers. Upon arrival Lauderdale set up a military post, named Fort Lauderdale, on the banks of New River at Southwest Ninth Avenue. The City of Ft. Lauderdale was founded 57 years later in 1895. At the entrance to the Forest Ridge Subdivision in Davie is this 9 foot tall, bronze statue of Major William Lauderdale, namesake of the City of Ft. Lauderdale. He rides astride his horse at the spot where Seminoles once lived on the ridge during the last century. It was the site for sacred ceremonies, weddings, and naming newborns. It was also where Lauderdale fought a skirmish against the Seminole led by Seminole chief Sam Jones. The soldiers drove 50 to 100 Indian warriors and their women and children off the island but they where not able to capture them. Thirteen days after the skirmish, Lauderdale left Florida in poor health. He died on the way back to Tennessee on May 11th. The Seminole were able to hide out and they were the only tribe never to sign a peace treaty with the US Government. The statue was created in 1988 by sculptor Luis Montoya who has a studio in West Palm Beach. It was commissioned by Forest Ridge developer Charles Palmer, who was a member of Fort Lauderdale's Downtown Development Authority at the time. The Forest Ridge development sits on Pine Island Ridge, once an island that Major Lauderdale and his Tennessee Volunteers helped to take from the Seminoles during the Second Seminole War in 1838. Since no likeness of Major Lauderdale exists, Montoya used the Major's great- great-grandson, also named William Lauderdale as a model. You can reach this statue from the street but I came upon it from the trail that starts in Tree Top Park and goes through Pine Island Ridge Preserve. At the start of the trail in the park is the Sam Jones Memorial Sculpture, a tribute to the Seminole medicine man who led his people to freedom from Major Lauderdale and the U.S. Army.