“The idea for creating a vine-inspired gateway germinated in Fennell’s mind years ago; the delay in seeing his vision realized was the result of not having found the perfect location. It wasn’t until he read about the Davis Civic Arts Commission’s request for proposal for the development of a gateway landmark between the City of Davis and the UC Davis Arboretum that he knew his search was over—he just had to convince the selection committee. His sell, as it turns out, was easy.“At a distance this gateway will look like vine inspired ironwork, but up close the viewer will notice that the vine leaves are actually used shovel heads,” explains Fennell. “The diversity of shapes, sizes, and rusty patterns on used shovel heads collected from the community will give the sculpture a richness and character that would be unattainable with new materials.’”