A vibrant new sculpture has taken root in Silverthorne, inviting passersby to pause, reflect, and perhaps look a little closer. “Lotus Flower,” created by Colorado artist Kasia Polkowska, brings together mosaic, sculpture, texture, and color in a way that feels both joyful and meditative, like a mandala catching alpine light.

Installed beside the Blue River Trail outside Silverthorne Town Hall, the sculpture feels remarkably at home in its surroundings. Its circular form echoes both a blooming flower and a radiant window, while the openings throughout the piece create shifting views of the landscape beyond. Depending on the time of day and where a viewer stands, the sculpture changes character, filtering light, shadow, sky, and trees through its patterned surface.

The front of the sculpture features bright cobalt blues and intricate hand-textured ceramic mosaics that immediately catch the eye. On the reverse side, deeper midnight tones create a more subdued and contemplative mood, giving the artwork two distinct personalities. Together, the dual-sided design feels almost like day and night in conversation.

Polkowska shared that she was especially drawn to the peaceful setting near Town Hall and the opportunity for the work to become part of people’s everyday experience outdoors.

“The lotus is an exquisite flower that easily captivates whomever casts their eyes upon it,” Polkowska explained. “In nature, it emerges from muddy, murky waters to bloom into a perfectly clean flower.”

Across many cultures, the lotus has long symbolized purity, rebirth, enlightenment, and transformation. For Polkowska, the flower’s daily rhythm of opening to the light and closing at night carries a deeply personal meaning. She describes the lotus as “a beautiful reminder of the potential we have when we open up to the light.”

That spirit radiates through the sculpture itself. The layered petals, circular voids, and flowing textures create a sense of movement, almost as though the piece is breathing alongside the landscape around it.

Built Layer by Layer

While the finished sculpture appears delicate and organic, its construction is an impressive blend of engineering and craftsmanship.

Polkowska began with a welded steel base and internal armature to create a strong structural core. Around that framework, layers of polystyrene foam were shaped into the sculpture’s circular form before being reinforced with mesh and coated in a hybrid concrete mixture.

From there came the mosaic process, a labor-intensive phase that transformed the sculpture into the vibrant work now on display. Every ceramic tile was handmade in Kasia’s studio: rolled, textured, shaped, glazed, and fired individually before being carefully glued into place and then grouted.

The sculpture rewards both close inspection and distant admiration. Up close, visitors can discover tiny variations in glaze, pattern, and texture that reveal the artist’s hand in every section. From farther away, the sculpture reads as a bold geometric bloom rising from the earth beside the Blue River Trail.

Rooted in Colorado’s Landscape

Kasia has spent more than two decades exploring a wide range of artistic mediums, including painting, stained glass mosaics, ceramics, photography, and sculpture. A graduate of Pratt Institute, she has participated in public art programs across Colorado for the past decade.

Her journey into large-scale public sculpture began in 2016 while living in Alamosa after being accepted into the city’s inaugural public art program. Since then, public art has become a central part of her artistic practice.

Today, Polkowska and her creative partner, Kyle Cunniff, are developing Mystic Valley Sculpture Park, a 40-acre creative oasis in the San Luis Valley where many of their works are permanently installed among trails and the surrounding high-desert landscape.

Nature remains at the heart of her work, from mountainous night-sky paintings to colorful outdoor sculptures inspired by Colorado’s dramatic terrain and ever-changing seasons.

“With my sculpture,” Kasia writes in her artist statement, “I aim to add beauty and interest to new places where the passerby can feel uplifted, inspired and discover something new.”