The Nest

Shayna King

A robin might take one look at Shayna King’s “The Nest,” and conclude it had entered the Land of the Giants.

Made of grapevines, the 12-foot by 4-foot nest in the courtyard next to Lafayette College’s Williams Center for the Arts is a work in progress. Members of the community are invited to weave bits of material and yarn into the structure much as a bird might do. An opening in the nest allows people to walk in and take part in the art.

Close-up of The Nest

“The birds are really resourceful, they use everything around them,” says King, a 17-year-old senior at Easton Area High School. She collected rags at school for viewers to use to decorate the nest or they can bring their own.

King hopes the public will look at the sculpture and see that art isn’t just paintings on a museum wall. “I want them to see how a community can come together to create something that can involve the urban environment of the city and natural habitat around it, the Bushkill Creek, the Delaware River and all the beautiful parks,” she says.

The idea for The Nest came out of King’s work in a course with the college’s Community-Based Teaching Program called The Lafayette Experience. The class, led by Jim Toia, teaches select area high school students about different types of art while they build their portfolios and learn from visiting artists.

The Nest

King graduates from Easton high school this spring and plans to attend Juniata College in the fall. She expects to major in psychology and accounting but says she hopes art will always be a part of her life.

Find The Nest at map location 8