“Mini Orion”

During the making of Orion, I lost a very dear friend of mine. I sat weeping on my studio floor while sculpting Orion. It is by far, one of my most heartfelt sculptures.

Orion was inspired by all of our loved ones, family or friends, that are unfortunately no longer with us or live far away—but when you think of them, you can’t help but smile because of the beautiful memories you have shared with them. The gold heart in Orion’s hand is held close to his own heart, just like his loved ones. He is looking up at the night sky and making a wish, in their memory,  on a shooting star that is seen coming down the back of his head. He has a gorgeous midnight blue patina to mimic the color of the galaxy and the Orion constellation is denoted with the patina on his back. The stripe running vertically down his back represents the Milky Way and the stars throughout are meant to be falling all around him. His little feet have sgraffito designs to represent his many journeys and the paths he has walked through in his life. On the back is a design representing the spirit of the bear. I include this on many of my sculptures.

The face of Orion is my beautiful white rescue cat (Amos aka Moose) who greets us every night with a smile and his eyes closed, paw extended….a bit of whimsy.