A Tale of Two Colorados

c. 2011. Mixed-Media Sculptural Mosaic, 10×16.6×5″, Glass and ceramic tiles, Italian millefiori, metal and glass beads, glass gems and shapes, found objects, mirror, and rope on metal sculpted substrate.
This sculptural piece, a moose, one of the great inhabitants of the state of Colorado, ended up speaking to me with the “two sides” of his almost flat metal sculptural figure. Because I so associated the moose with my home in Colorado, I started thinking more about him having two sides and how Colorado often has ‘two sides’ to it; one free and colorful and diverse and creative, exemplified in my mind by Boulder, and the other with a “black and white” type thinking, where everything is “right or wrong”, “good or bad”, “saint or devil”, with no room for grey areas in between, exemplified by Colorado Springs. Although I realize those two cities have all kinds of folks in them, I wanted to portray the public’s common perceptions about the different areas and their respective dominant ideologies in our great state. The “diverse” side is represented by a huge variety of bright colors, relevant words, and icons, while the “black and white” side is just that; only black or white colors along with its relevant words and icons. The ‘two sides’ come together in one piece of art to represent the ‘two sides’ of our state, reminding us that we are actually one group of people, all just trying to get along and live the good life in Colorado, reflected by the mirrored bottom of the moose’s pedestal.