| William's Secret Garden by Pokey Park |
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Pokey Park Artist Statement of Work:
My sculpture “Williams Secret Garden”, is a portrait of my son at the beginning of his life journey when he was still locked in his non-verbal world. And the “Magic” was his quiet trusting, observant personality portends for the future. My youngest child William had a language all his own. Until he was three his verbal communication was severely limited, therefore I became aware of his quiet intent observation of people and all the domestic and wildlife around our house. William developed a close bond with a huge orange rabbit, Harvey, who lived at his pre-school. When we’d bring Harvey home on the weekends they were inseparable, with an obvious communication between them, a magical silent trust and sharing. I read “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, as a young girl. A book about friendship, determination, and perseverance, about the healing powers of the mind. A book about a locked garden where the roses, though neglected, were not dead. As the garden blossomed, so too did the children who worked there. Once the garden was revived, the children came to recognize its tremendous strength and power. Although they labeled this power “magic’, they recognized that magic works “best when you work yourself”. When I began this sculptural portrait of William, I remembered this book and his first animal love, Harvey. There exists a parallel: William blossomed with his connections to animals and nature. His “magic” has come with self motivation, observation and hard work He has certainly transformed his life with the “magic” and joyously affected the lives of others.
Artist Bio: My inspirations are from myths and cultural symbols repeated throughout history connecting disparate people. The South’s rich cultural history mixed with my enthusiastic pursuit of cultural mythology- especially Native American creation myths- has given me endless inspiration for my animal sculptures wrapped in mythical themes. I’ve been lucky to be born in an era of global communication and to have the opportunity to travel the world. My style reflects my belief that life needs to be celebrated with whimsy and attitude. I use the flow of lines and surface patterns to create positive and negative spaces in my sculpture. This creates movement and balance between the parts. Everything has serious and whimsical dimensions I look for the underlying joy in the world to express in my sculpture.
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