“Swept Away” was inspired by a small clay mermaid with her baby which was made by one of my Museum students by the name of Cal.  She gave it to me as a gift before she moved back to Chile.  She took a carving class from me while her husband was studying here in United States to train as a doctor. She herself was a veterinarian but she very much wanted to be an artist.   I think Cal already was an artist, for she had the eye, heart and hand connection down like few others I know.   She had pursued veterinary medicine to please her family but was determined to create more art.  Most of us have to find ways to support our first love (making art) and I hope she was able to eventually pursue her art full time.    Years later I carved “Swept Away” out of the alabaster and  I thought about how important it is to hold on to our dreams lest they be swept away by time, demands of the day and generally expectations other have of us.

Carving the stone itself presented an interesting challenge in that the back had to be carved out quite deeply because there was a pocket of soft minerals caught within the alabaster.  I had to keep removing the soft material and open all around the tail while keeping it structurally sound and pleasing to the eye.  In the end this allows for more light to flow through making it very translucent in direct sunlight.