Campbell-Stone Sandy Springs residents gathered outside the retirement community’s main lobby on March 2 to welcome back Homer the Town Turtle, one of 75 statues created to raise money for the city’s incorporation in the early aughts.
More than 20 residents at Campbell-Stone Sandy Springs gathered with members of the Sandy Springs Society and Mayor Rusty Paul to unveil the statue after a month-long professional refurbishing.
The Town Turtles of Sandy Springs originated in 2003, a few years before the city’s incorporation, when Ingrid Blunt and Jan Collins of the Sandy Springs Society conceived a creative way to raise money.
More than 20 years later
While Collins was unable to attend the unveiling, Blunt was there and spoke about the genesis of their idea. Blunt said her co-chair, Collins, saw Chicago’s “Cows on Parade” public art exhibition in 1999 and wanted to bring it to the Sandy Springs community.
“We did turtles because they’re indigenous to the area,” Blunt told the crowd outside of Campbell-Stone Sandy Springs’ main lobby. “Originally, they were going to be a salamander because they live in the springs … but that was not going to have a big enough canvas.”
By 2005, the Sandy Springs Society had raised $750,000 for the city to buy parks from Fulton County. During the celebration of the city’s incorporation last summer, the society partnered with Art Sandy Springs to display the 20th Anniversary Turtle Walk.
After a 30-year effort to become a city, “slow and steady wins the race” became a rallying cry for incorporation. The town turtles are now de facto ambassadors of Sandy Springs.
George Tucker, administrator at Campbell-Stone, said staff at the retirement community worked with the Sandy Springs Society, which connected them with the Lopers.
“We’ve been trying to figure out how to go about getting Homer a spa day for some time,” Tucker said. “I personally find it really fun, when I’m driving around the city of Sandy Springs, to point out turtles to my kids.”
Locals refurbish Homer
The artists who refurbished Homer are Brett and Amber Loper. Brett’s father, Dave Loper, helped freshen the Huntcliff neighborhood’s Town Turtle, inspired by Claude Monet’s water-lily series.
Dave’s wife, Joy, said her sister is a resident at Campbell-Stone, making the statue unveiling a family affair.
The Lopers said they picked up Homer in early February. A deep-clean involved sanding down chipped paint (scales), rough spots, and imperfections. After filling in small holes in the fiberglass, Brett said he did a skim coat of spot glazing and sanded each layer by hand.
After spray painting the entire statue green, Brett said he turned things over to his wife, Amber, who repainted all of the intricate details. The “Home Sweet Home” banner across the turtle’s chest is crystal clear, matching the purple castle on Homer’s shell.
“We’re talking hours of painting, each color getting at least 10 coats,” Brett said of his wife’s artistry. “Finally, I sealed everything with five layers of two-part automotive clear coat — so now he’s super durable, scratch-resistant, and UV-proof.”
With more than 70 other town turtles around the city, the husband-wife duo could have more work ahead of them.
Campbell-Stone is a nonprofit affordable housing community, serving nearly 600 residents across our Sandy Springs and Buckhead campuses.
Elizabeth Vanderburg, community engagement director at Campbell-Stone Senior Living, made the connections necessary to have the statue repainted.
“The Sandy Springs Society makes a meaningful impact in the broader community and at Campbell-Stone,” Vanderburg said. “They have been a wonderful supporter of our residents’ ability to age in place.”