Wilton Fire Department

The breakfast was a success again this year.  Thank You to all who participated.

Photos of the children with Santa can be seen by clicking on the link below:

Click here for photos

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and safe holiday season.

Please use caution when preparing your holiday feast.

“As an artist it is invigorating to have been given such an eminent opportunity”……. miChelle Vara, Artist

The sculpture piece called “Respectful Remembrances” is meant to reflect the unity of Americans’ in all walks of life, offering an uplifting sense of healing and forward progression, on the home front horizon, without forgetting the past.

• The I Beam

Is an actual piece from the World Trade Center events.  You can see the sever duress the iron has been through by the bends that are in it.  It encapsulates immense spirit and energy.

• The arched rusted piece of Angel Iron –

On 9/11 the scene of countless people walking orderly across the Brooklyn Bridge towards safety, left a mark in my mind’s eye.  The events as they happened in real time.  The rise and fall.  The bending of Strength but still holding.

• ¾ inch Round down post-

This piece intentionally bent, wavy and rusted showing inconstant information coming from the ground level.  The Questions that remain un-answered about the disaster.

• The small Off Shoot of ¼” Flat stock-

“fractional pieces”- of stories,  ideas,  thoughts,  energy.  Made as a support in the supporting of each other, human being to human being.

The holding up or up lifting.  Rising.  Each small part played is important to the big picture.

• The circle –

The circle is of inexhaustible implications.  Unity, all encompassing, beginning, end, strength, connection.  The sun and moon, work, human culture, concept of all-inclusive.  All the forces (medical, fire, rescue, military, etc,) that work together so hard in collective efforts.  Polished metal is the representation of the light and opportunities.

The remembrance of life lost, given and shared, the innocents of a nation changed and our troops on the front, even now, are also meant to be implied in the over all of this piece.

By Paul Post – saratogian.com

WILTON — A piece of steel beam from the World Trade Center is featured in a 9/11 memorial sculpture that will soon go on permanent display at the Wilton Firehouse on Ballard Road.

Former Wilton Fire Department President Ray Bailey applied to receive a World Trade Center artifact about 2-1/2 years ago.

To his surprise, earlier this summer it showed up in a box on his doorstep.

Then he contacted local artist miChelle M. Vara to use the piece in a sculpture that pays tribute to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and those who lost their lives.

Vara specializes in iron, metal and steel work at her Ballard Road art studio, near the corner of Route 50 and Ballard Road.

Her completed work is full of symbolism.

“It’s small, but powerful,” she said. “I was completely thrilled to get this opportunity.”

Two of the sculpture’s three legs are made from a piece of bent steel.

Vara said the piece represents the orderly, yet bizarre scene of countless people walking home across Brooklyn Bridge on Sept. 11, 2001, after it was closed to vehicles.

“That just captivated me and left a mark in my mind,” she said.

The bend in the piece symbolizes the dramatic change in history and people’s idealism that occurred that day. The main piece of World Trade Center steel, about 2 feet along, is partially bent, too.

Another leg of the sculpture is a wavy piece of steel that represents the uncertainty about exactly what transpired.

“Nobody really knows the whole story,” Vara said. “There are a lot of different takes on what happened.”

One leg has a small offshoot because “everybody had a different story, an idea to share,” she said. “There’s all these fractional pieces.”

Vara force-rusted the sculpture’s legs to give them the same color as the World Trade Center beam.

The one completely clean element is a circular piece that symbolizes the clarity of purpose and American unity that was evident, not only on 9/11, but in the weeks and months that followed.

“People from all walks of life joined hands to do a task,” she said. “We came together as a country. It was the first time in New York City’s history that neighbors were helping each other, sharing, pulling in one direction. People came from all over the country to help.

The sculpture will be moved to the fire station. Details for a dedication ceremony are still being worked out and will be announced soon, Bailey said.

Artist mi Chelle M. Vara has built a sculpture using a piece of metal I beam from the Twin Towers. The sculpture is almost done and will be on display at the Wilton Fire Department.

The department applied for a piece of metal from the World Trade Center over two years ago. They wanted a place where people could connect and remember the tragic event that happened almost ten years ago.

The sculpture will be at the fire department permanently beginning Sept. 11.