Lean On Me Sculpture

My mother birthed me, at home, in a small historical town in Pennsylvania’s southwest corner. As with most artists, we have always been! Of course, for me there was coloring (still is), drawing, scrapbooking, and mud pies as a child. After high school (1963), I moved to Baltimore, Maryland to start my life as an adult. After business and art classes in college, I decided to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art to expand my artistic desires. Thirty-three years of east coast living brought me to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in 1978. Of course, skiing was the main reason. Evergreen, Colorado has and still is my home for 44 years. MICA instructed me in pen and ink and painting. However, my husband, Erik, introduced me to stone carving. One special day, I think it was in ‘93, he gifted me with an alabaster rock, chisels, and a hammer. I had created sculptures with clay before; even, a long-time interest in bronze came my way, when my brother requested a mask of his face be on his headstone. But I never thought of or experienced carving stone. Without knowing what or how to progress (no YouTube then), I instinctually started chipping at this beautiful stone. This first carving, Moon Struck, sold! Astonished, I became a life stoner; redefining the term “stoner” because I am addicted to carving. Lost in the creation of sculptures in stone gave me the hunt for more rocks to carve. Thus, the six sessions of attending the Marble/marble Symposium, in Marble Colorado, captured my heart to carve Colorado Yule Marble. Now, I work with the power of compressed air, water, and diamonds along with that hammer and chisels. I am struck by the power of the tool allowing me to change the Creator’s creations into my creation. My cabin studio sits on the edge of a wild-flowered, tall grassed, forested mountain park. As I carve stone or paint, I watch herds of deer and elk, a few(?) bunnies and chippers, birds, and sometimes a bobcat strolling among the tall pine and aspen trees. This is where I am filled with inspiration. As I have been honored to be juried in numerous shows and exhibits in galleries throughout the decades, I am amazed, encouraged, and appreciative when my sculptures have won kudos, awards, and collectors. My pleasure and purpose are ensured when I see people, especially children and the visually impaired, smiling and enjoying running their fingers around my sculptures. It is exuberant! Art must be enjoyed by both the creator and the receiver.