Spring WAters

by Joanna Underwood Blackburn and Kristen Dorsey
Bronze and Steel with Granite Base
14” H x 11.5” W x 6” D

$6,500 (plus shipping)
Contact for ordering details

This double-sided sculpture is made of bronze and polished steel with a granite base. It is cast from the original clay maquette that was made for the monumental sculpture located at the Artesian Hotel & Spa in Sulphur, OK.

From our homelands to our present, water has always been a central part of Chickasaw culture. Light dances on the swirling steel to reference how water flows and froths around rocks in gurgling streams. The fish, made of bronze, swim continuously around the sculpture and are carved in the style of our ancestors’ line art found on shell carvings. The hand painted green patina on the fish represents copper, a precious material for our ancestors.

Our ancestors wore circular gorgets carved from shell and incised with symbols that guided them in their daily life. Made in the style of an ancient shell gorget, this piece honors what is precious to us - Oka (water) and the environment that we must safeguard for future generations.