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Slow and Steady 
For six weeks during the baking heat of June and July 2005, Todd Frahm created the library's landmark Slow and Steady sculpture from a 20-ton block of Indiana limestone. Frahm grew up in Tolono, Illinois . He received a BFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1999 and an MFA in sculpture from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 2002. He has recently relocated to the midwest after teaching sculpture and 3D design at Santa Monica College in Los Angeles, California. Local examples of his work include Elarairah in the Meadowbrook sculpture garden; Fly Fishing at the Anita Purves Nature Center and Decisions in Carle Park. His work has also been purchased by the City of Clayton, Missouri and the Tolono Public Library. "I feel privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of the Urbana Library project. The committee and board have provided me with the budget and latitude necessary to create a work, which will enhance the remarkable new building. "Slow and Steady" (borrowed from Aesop's Fables) is emblematic of the measured pace and path toward knowledge, a theme in keeping with the library's mission. Because central Illinois will always be home to me, it is my honor to contribute to the landscape," says Frahm. The Urbana Free Library Foundation raised the funds for the purchase of this sculpture through the sale of personalized bricks. The engraved pavers are featured on a landscaped walkway from Race Street to the south entrance of the library along Cherry Alley. Slow and Steady Progress - Summer 2005
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