Although I don’t yet have a photo studio set up in our new home, the below (less-than professionally shot) images do give a sense of my newly-completed sculpture, It Dawned on Me (Airplane). This comparatively small work was inspired by my brother Greg Brown and our father, Dr. Harold Brown, who sadly is no longer with us. The sculpture celebrates the beauty and wonder of flight that these two intrepid pilots have shared with me, over the years.
I am reminded of Greg and Dad whenever I am on a flight that rises up through the rain and clouds to enter the magical world above. Without fail, that ever-changing experience washes away (for a time) any troubles that might lurk down below. If this sound like a Judy Garland song, I can’t help it.
Worked in peyote stitch over a small metal coin-bank in the form of a Remington, the patterns on this work are intended to suggest the stars and clouds one sometimes sees when flying towards the sunrise. If I remember correctly, early morning is one of the best times to take off, as the cooler, denser air provides more lift. (Yes, I am a morning person.)
It Dawned on Me (Airplane)
Glass seed beads in peyote stitch over metal bank (Remington plane form)
L. (propeller to tail): approx. 8″; W. (wing tips): approx. 11″
Private Collection: Flagstaff, Arizona
Thanks for the inspiration, Greg and Dad. Wishing all of your flights of fancy may be happy ones!
Leslie B. Grigsby Beadwork 