Sculpture of the week 9/13/11

This week I wanted to say a bit about my piece, Trouble on Thunder Mountain. This piece is first made with clay, and then cast in bronze using the lost wax method, and patinaed with dark, rich colours. The story behind this sculpture comes from when I was a child. I had a record about a little Indian brave who climbed a steep mountain trail with his pony, to a point where they could not turn around. The boy beat on his little drum, calling to his father, "Run father, RUN!" Then, "Zing, like an arrow, like lightning through the pines", his father ran to save them. I loved this record as a child, it fascinated me. I wanted to create a piece that incorporated the beauty of this story, and the overcoming of obstacles. We all have individual struggles between our inner strengths and survival in a sometimes dangerous world. But we can also all overcome these barriers to our own survival.