Keith Roddey with his Corona Trotter outside of The SunFlower Cafe.
The Corona Trotter outside SunFlower Cafe was created by Keith Roddey.
“I got into art because of my son, Kyle, who used to be the mayor of Goshen and who, along with others, came up with these projects, such as the Art Walk, The Keys of Goshen and the Trotters of Goshen. I think the first time I tried to do art was with the first Trotter in 2017 which came out OK and I thought, “Hmmm, maybe I can do this.” The second Trotter I did included a nude nymph, which it was thought to be too risque, so I added pixie dust to get it past the censors.
“I’m more of a musician than an artist, playing bagpipes with a couple of bands, though my main instrument is classical guitar, which I also got into because of my son, with me thinking it would be nice to play in the Art Walk.
“Why did I design and paint the trotter as I did? The only inspiration for my Trotter is what we’ve all been hunkered down because of, a subtle reminder of what we’re all dealing with this year. Mine is the Corona Trotter. And what a perfect spot for it to be sitting in front of: The SunFlower Cafe (I couldn’t have planned it better). There was no plan to it other than including the sun and a prominent corona.”