"NATURAL WONDERS"
Bronze Figurative Sculpture

My latest sculpture symbolizes our need for oneness with the world through a story of the connections we all share with nature. My hope is to express how each person can build a sensitivity to natural ecology and through enlightened planning for habitat protection, improve our world. This bronze work attempts to engage the viewer in this narrative, appealing to the inner spirit within each of us, nurturing a recognition for how this interdependent relationship with nature, under our wise stewardship, can sustain all life in a harmonious manner rather than through a destructive one.

The story centers on the innocence of a child's wonder and natural instinct for acceptance that the world inherited includes a reverence for and a oneness with nature. The figure is closely examining the surroundings through a telescopic glass, providing reference to a more timeless and historically important tool for seeing what is ahead into the future, planning our path, or just as a means for observation and getting closer to nature. The figure rests comfortably atop a large turtle from along a rivers bank. The child is unafraid, bold and realizes that the turtle is an old friend, a prehistoric creature that dates to the early origins of the river and is a symbol for the earth used by Native Americans. A simple shirt and shorts hang on the figure as the story weaves representations of plant and animal species into the fabric of the child's life. By weaving the image of the native willow plant into the fabric, executed in bas-relief or as surface depressions and drawings, I am commemorating the efforts of those who have reintroduced native plant species along the banks of waterways for restoration and erosion control, aiding the purification of our waters. A jumping frog and deer are also on the shirt simply referencing the vibrancy of life in the wild in a familiar way. A cicada hangs comfortable over the heart of the child which represents the passage of time and prompts us to consider the passage of the next seventeen years and what might change before us.

All of the creatures shown rely on the waterways for sustenance. Birds, fish, snakes, cicadas, bees, tadpoles are shown in relief. Although we may not always see the creatures, we know that they are around from their tracks. Deer, opossum, toad & blue herons tracks can be found on the shell of the turtle as they might be seen in the mud at the waters edge. The tracks are located closer to the base so one can test our “animal track” knowledge with each other, sharing and learning in the process of enjoying art. A long eared hare sits comfortably on the turtle at the side of the child in a way to remind us of the tale that “slow and steady” can win the race. It can additionally suggest that the decisions we make as caretakers of our natural world should be well thought out and not hastily considered. The “hat home” element is somewhat whimsical and friendly in spirit but recognizes natural systems in place that provide diverse habitats for birds. Bees provide an essential pollination role for sustaining a broad range of agriculture which in turn supports our human food resources. Bees teach us patience and that a "little here and a little there" will turn nectar into honey. Protecting all elements from the air to land and to the waters around us is essential for sustaining all species.

I hope that“Natural Wonders” will inspire the viewer to seek a oneness in their place in this interdependent relationship with the world. I am sure that this story of a youth’s imagination still allowed to dream and to wonder will extend to each of our own individual spirits as well and will help to guide us as we make decisions which will result in a infinitely sustainable natural world.

This work is comfortable in open air garden spaces and in corporate and personal collections, libraries and nature centers. This work can be enlarged for site-specific large-scale public installations.