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<p>As a barrier island, Hunting Island is constantly undergoing change. Change at the hands of the wind, the tides and especially the power storms of the late summer and early fall.</p>
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<p>Now the Hunting Island State Park’s Visitor Center is undergoing a complete transformation of its own over the coming year.</p>
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<p>To kick off the work, six Beaufort Academy art students from Paula Quinn’s class came to the park on Monday to see the initial sketches and meet the artists.</p>
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<p>Artist Aki Kato is painting a complete surround mural depicting the various ecologies of the island, including the salt marsh, the maritime forest, the dunes, the beach, and the ocean.</p>
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<p>The skies and landscapes will include many of the plants and animals that live on the island. Aki Kato will complete the murals in about five months.</p>
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<p>Classically-trained Kelly Richard is a Hilton Head Island sculptor who works in papier mache — not the papier mache we remember from school days, but a mushy material she calls mud made from paper that can be molded into exact replicas of the creatures she represents.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>These will be nearly life-sized models and will be flying into the room or perch on a tree — all integrated with Aki Kato’s murals.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>In addition, the room will house a theater for films and a touch screen display presenting five short videos about important features of the island: The Lighthouse, The Turtles of Hunting Island, The History of Hunting Island, Barrier Island Ecology, and the Civilian Conservation Corps Builds the Harbor River Swing Bridge.</p>
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<p>To commemorate the swing bridge connected Hunting Island with Saint Helena Island, Merlin Redfern, a former Friends of Hunting Island board member, architect, and builder, is constructing a scale model of the bridge.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>The model will open and close using the actual lever and lights from the bridge’s wheelhouse. For the next few years, until the bridge is replaced, a temporary lever will be used.</p>
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<p>The second year, additional displays will be added to the room, including a virtual lighthouse so those who cannot climb to the top can see the 360-degree view.</p>
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<p>Visitors are welcome to watch the transformation by viewing the changes through the glass doors from the lobby, or from 2-3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Aki Kato will welcome visitors into the main room to see the progress of his work and ask questions.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>For more information, contact Carol Corbin at 770-265-7630 or <a href="mailto:carolcorbin@yahoo.com">carolcorbin@yahoo.com</a>. Visit the Friends of Hunting Island website at www.friendsofhuntingisland.org.<br></p>
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