Huntington Beach Art and Sculpture

The Butterfly Initiative flutters into town

Robin Repp has been molding Huntington Beach into a piece of art.

She's an artist in residence at the Huntington Beach Art Center, and her piece was inspired by the California Western monarch butterfly, which travels along the coast and rests at various beaches as it migrates.

Repp's "Huntington Beach Monarch' is a composition consisting of photographic images of the people and places of Surf City. She took the photos on a digital camera in several beach-town sites, including parks, at the Fourth of July parade and at Bolsa Chica. The overall shape resembles a butterfly.

The city has been involved with the public station and other community organizations supporting the Butterfly Initiative. It's a series of projects designed to engage the communities and promote creativity. And it will include the Arts and Science Legacy Project, which will help start the first Endowment for Science and Arts Education in Orange County.

The "Huntington Beach Monarch' along with projects from other communities will be displayed at Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach. And the works will be auctioned at a televised event on March 4.

Organizers of the program hope to expand the initiative to schools, corporations and non-profit organizations.

The butterfly was on display at the Art Center, 538 Main St., on Saturday to mark the California Western Monarch Butterfly Day.

It appeared at the Michael E. Rodgers Seniors Center, 1706 Orange Ave., through the end of March. It will be transferred to the City Hall lobby in April.