"Sanctuary", Loveland, CO
Sanctuary is part of Loveland, Colorado's permanent collection and is installed on the bridge at 37th Street and North Garfield Avenue.
Click Here for a map of its location.
A large cottonwood tree was removed during the construction of the 37th Street Connector Bridge. The community felt strongly that this tree was a safe haven for many birds and a tree fort indicated to me that kids used this tree as a refuge as well. These ideas guided me to create a sculpture that expressed the refuge given by the tree as a sanctuary for the birds and kids in the neighborhood. But what is sanctuary? For me it is an inner place where peace and conflict can be safely faced, sorted out and ultimately, accepted or not. Sanctuary expresses peace on one side of the bridge with a Great Blue Heron and conflict expressed on the bridge's opposing side as a Ferruginous hawk battling a Bullsnake. Both birds are flying through an enso circle, a Japanese symbol of wholeness. The enso is the common element on both sides of the bridge that bring the conflict and peace represented by the birds into a single space I refer to as sanctuary. Accepting and balancing out this internal tug-of-war can be a gateway to living more wholly, a life that includes courage, compassion and connection to balance out the fear, insensitivity and isolation that has steadily and insidiously become dominant in too much of our current culture.
8' long X 2' wide X 13' high. Stainless steel, mild steel.
Click on Images to Enlarge
Installation Time Lapse Video