Sandy Thimgan and her husband Dan are long-time Battle Lake residents, moving here originally for teaching jobs. They commissioned this beautiful mosaic in 2024.

Local artist Annette Hochstein designed and crafted the "Glass Bottom Canoe." She designed the mosaic to thematically represent the connection between our lakes, rivers, streams, and ourselves. We are reminded to observe and enjoy the wonderful world of nature that surrounds us!

The decision to commission this project was born over lunch at the Boathouse Restaurant. We looked out the window and said: That empty wall needs help. All those beautiful nearby glass mosaic benches deserve better company. And the wall's size, shape, and space said "canoe" to us.

Annette, who was the designer and overseer of the downtown glass mosaic benches, was the obvious choice for the project. We believe if she hadn't agreed to the project, it wouldn’t have happened. We were thrilled that not only did she agree to do the project, but she also embraced it!

At first, it wasn’t clear on whose property the wall existed, but finally it was determined the wall belonged to the Boathouse. Fortunately, owner Josie Thomopoulos enthusiastically endorsed the project. After serious soul searching given the intricacies of the project, the design was completed at the end of November 2023. Assembly started in Annette's garage in February 2024 and finished by August. Several individuals, including Karin Trosvik, Marcy Fuller, Mat Buckingham, Dan, and myself, assisted Annette in assembling the piece.

Richard Hochstein configured the framing, mounting, and installation of the mosaic. From concept to completion the project took about nine months - like having a baby, we said. The mosaic consists of approximately 8,000 pieces of glass - each piece cut, ground, installed, and finally, grouted. It took six strong men to hoist "Glass Bottom Canoe" into place on September 7, 2024 - a stunning new addition to Battle Lake's downtown public art.

Now, immerse yourself. Look carefully. Did you see the otter, frog, dragonflies, turtle, minnows, walleyes, red-winged blackbird? Go ahead - imagine yourself floating along in a Glass Bottom Canoe!