The Garden Goddess
a/k/a the Picardo Venus
By Steve Anderson
Photo copyright © 2009 by Larry Neilson.
The completed statue sits approximately two and a quarter feet tall,
atop a four-foot tiled concrete column. The statue depicts a pregnant woman with
dreadlocked hair and a discrete diamond stud nose-ring, seated with head thown back and
eyes closed as if in communion with her unborn child, as she clasps her hands in front of
her belly, swollen with new life. The artist has depicted the figure, a personification of
fertility, with exaggerated voluptuousness. But the design of the statue was especially
selected to accentuate the spiritual aspect of motherhood and fertility, as seen in the
figure's serene expression, beautifully sculpted by Steve Anderson; and it is on that calm
and enigmatic expression that the viewer's gaze lingers.
The pedestal, an 18" diameter column of reinforced concrete rising
from a 600-lb. slab, was originally covered with custom-made tile in a brightly colored floral pattern
of yellow liles and dragonflies on a deep blue background. This installation was designed by Dawn Frasier and curved to fit the column exactly, and finished
with an unobtrusive navy blue grout. Tiles were custom made locally but it was decided to dispense withm tile after they proved unequal to mild winter freezing, chipping the design; plain concrete is more unobtrusive.
The creation of the statue was a complex process,
following techniques known to the ancients but adapted with state-of-the-art sculptural
materials. Initially the statue took form at the studio of Darryl Smith in Fremont. First
a detailed clay model was sculpted to size by Steve Anderson, including the cosmic and
natural elements of the Earth Goddess which appear in the figure's dreadlocked hair (a
dragonfly, sun and moon symbols, seashells and fishes, a sunflower, a tree frog). A rubber
mold was then prepared and a wax figure cast from the mold. Further detailing and
refinement proceeded in the wax. When the wax figure was completed and approved by the
artistic and project managers of the project, it was cut into three sections and a ceramic
"shell" or mold for the hot metal was prepared for each section. Then, on August
2, 1999, the Goddess was born in smoke and fire as the molten bronze was poured at the
Fremont Fine Arts Foundry. After the metal had cooled, the ceramic shells were chipped off
and the pieces of bronze cleaned, further detailed, and welded together. Finally a green
patina (appropriate for a garden figure) was applied and the statue was installed and
dedicated on August 8, 1999, on a perfectly beautiful afternoon, in a ceremony sharing words, dance, and food in an appropriate air of thankfulness and uplift.
The completed statue sits approximately two and a quarter feet tall,
atop a four-foot tiled concrete column. The statue depicts a pregnant woman with
dreadlocked hair and a discrete diamond stud nose-ring, seated with head thown back and
eyes closed as if in communion with her unborn child, as she clasps her hands in front of
her belly, swollen with new life. The artist has depicted the figure, a personification of
fertility, with exaggerated voluptuousness. But the design of the statue was especially
selected to accentuate the spiritual aspect of motherhood and fertility, as seen in the
figure's serene expression, beautifully sculpted by Steve Anderson; and it is on that calm
and enigmatic expression that the viewer's gaze lingers.The pedestal, an 18" diameter column of reinforced concrete rising from a 600-lb. slab, was originally covered with custom-made tile in a brightly colored floral pattern of yellow liles and dragonflies on a deep blue background. This installation was designed by Dawn Frasier and curved to fit the column exactly, and finished with an unobtrusive navy blue grout. Tiles were custom made locally but it was decided to dispense withm tile after they proved unequal to mild winter freezing, chipping the design; plain concrete is more unobtrusive.
The creation of the statue was a complex process, following techniques known to the ancients but adapted with state-of-the-art sculptural materials. Initially the statue took form at the studio of Darryl Smith in Fremont. First a detailed clay model was sculpted to size by Steve Anderson, including the cosmic and natural elements of the Earth Goddess which appear in the figure's dreadlocked hair (a dragonfly, sun and moon symbols, seashells and fishes, a sunflower, a tree frog). A rubber mold was then prepared and a wax figure cast from the mold. Further detailing and refinement proceeded in the wax. When the wax figure was completed and approved by the artistic and project managers of the project, it was cut into three sections and a ceramic "shell" or mold for the hot metal was prepared for each section. Then, on August 2, 1999, the Goddess was born in smoke and fire as the molten bronze was poured at the Fremont Fine Arts Foundry. After the metal had cooled, the ceramic shells were chipped off and the pieces of bronze cleaned, further detailed, and welded together. Finally a green patina (appropriate for a garden figure) was applied and the statue was installed and dedicated on August 8, 1999, on a perfectly beautiful afternoon, in a ceremony sharing words, dance, and food in an appropriate air of thankfulness and uplift.
Goddess sunbathing in October, after gardeners have departed to bring donations to Food Bank.
Sun dial in the Picardo Herb Garden, funded by a later Small & Simple Award.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: All pictures shown in this web site are copyright © 1999, 2009 by Larry S. Neilson. Reproduction, sale, or use of any images shown herein without prior written permission of the artist is expressly prohibited. To negotiate terms for picture usage, call (206) 579-4243 or enquire via e-mail.