SCULPTURE OF THE WEEK

I had an incredible experience recently, while selling one of my sculptures. A woman came to an art exhibition I was part of - after the show was over - and began looking around. Her eye kept going to my sculpture, "The One Who Learned to Fly", so I told her the story behind the piece:

When my daughter was young, I made her a costume with fabric wings. I realized that she thought the wings were real - and when I had to tell her that they weren't, she began to cry. I looked her in the eye and promised her that this lifetime, spiritually, emotionally or physically, she would learn to fly.

When I finished telling the woman about the inspiration for this sculpture, she began to cry. She told me how much the story meant to her, how she had gone through something  similar and how she NEEDED the sculpture for her collection.

It is incredible for an artist when a piece speaks to someone and brings about such a strong emotional response. It is my "raison d'etre" (reason for being).

SCULPTURE OF THE WEEK

This week I'll be sharing the story of my piece, "Great With Child", that was recently added to the art collection of Joseph Shabalala, singer of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The back story begins 24 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. I was at a standing room only concert at the Ritz in New York City, and the room became too crowded for the safety of my unborn child. I went upstairs to the "Press Only" area and was greeted by Joseph Shabalala, founder of Ladysmith, with the words "You are great with child. Come, sit with us". Several years later, when my daughter, Hana-li, was a young child, we went to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo play again. I wanted to introduce Joseph and his group to her, the child that I had been so "great with" at their previous concert. But as much as I tried to get us backstage, security wouldn't even let us get a message to him. I finally yelled his name, with as much intention as I could muster, into the far reaches of the backstage area. A few moments later, he appeared at the entrance. I asked him if he remembered when I was "great with child" at the Ritz. He nodded and said that he did. I then gestured at Hana-li and said, "Here, this is the child." Joseph brought us backstage, and soon the whole group had surrounded her, smiling and taking in the child that had listened to their concert while still in the womb. This sculpture is dedicated to Joseph Shabalala, lead singer for Ladysmith Black Mambazo, in the memory of his kindness. It is now on it's way to his home in South Africa.

SCULPTURE OF THE WEEK

I wanted to share the inspiration behind my sculpture, "Dancin' in the Rain". Cast in bronze and high-polished, she is happy being voluptuous with no inhibitions. She was originally created as a maquette (model) for a large garden fountain, the water splashing down onto her upturned palm. She can be commissioned in any size.

Sculpture of The Week 9/27/11

This week I wanted to focus on my sculpture, Truth Revealed. This sculpture is created, like others, using the lost wax method and first created in clay. I then hand-patinaed him with rich, deep colours. He is put on top of a custom made steel base, and a light is installed that can be turned on to shine out of the sphere and illuminate the face. The story behind this piece is about a winged man (part mortal, part god) who sees through his blindfold and finds the truth he has been searching for. We live in a world where lies and falsities are in abundance. I wanted to create a piece that communicates the power within all of us to find the truth and disregard the rest, and that also spoke of the innate abilities in all of us that we will find with the truth.