Client: High Plains Arts Council

Overview

Monarch Girl depicts a girl jumping from one direction and a Monarch Butterfly from the other. The intention behind these multi focal sculptures is to open dialogue of how we can transform ideas/statements/actions through a simple change of one’s own perspective. Here a child leaps with enthusiasm from one angle, and a butterfly takes shape on the reverse.

Monarch Girl Stainless Steel/Epoxy Paint ©2022 6ft x 5ft x 4ft Benson Sculpture Garden, Loveland, CO

Goals

I was inspired by a photo my father-in-law took of my daughter during a camping trip several years ago. That photo reminds me of the importance of what we pass on to the next generation.

I combined that image with the Monarch Butterfly because it is an example of interdependence. I believe that is a critical value to teach our descendants and also one that allows Monarchs to migrate through North America. I have yet to see one fly in anything resembling a straight line, yet somehow they move through habitat for thousands of miles taking several generations to complete. But, it is not a one-way relationship: we depend on them as well to pollinate plants and farmland along the way.

Additional Information

The second in a limited edition of 10 is being placed in Gladstone, MO in 2024.