Every time I visit Missouri my mom asks if there’s anything I want to take home with me. In her earlier days she was an artist, and there are a few of her pieces that are special to me because I've known them since I was little.
This is one of my mother’s sculptures from her college years called, “The Dance.”
The process she describes to create it is fascinating. She carved the original sculpture out of wax. After encasing the wax in concrete, she fired it to melt out the wax and create a mold. She found a block of aluminum in a scrap yard, melted it down in a furnace, then poured it into the mold. When the concrete was broken away, she was left with a very rough aluminum form which she then polished in spots, and left rough from the concrete finish in others.
This is a fun piece to have on display. The sculpture spins on its base and you can examine it from different angles. It’s got heft and texture; it’s meant to be touched. The Easter Bunny has a tradition each year to hide an egg in the round loop at the top.
The best part of this piece to me? That it came from my mom.
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