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Caprice
Glaser Continued
...
At
her studio in St. Paul, Glaser's wide-ranging artistic talents are clearly evident.
There is numerous sculptural, painting and drawing pieces under work; she typically
works on a few projects at a time, moving between mediums on a daily basis. "I
find it difficult to cut wood and sand wood more than six hours a day," she
said. "Each stage of an art work is interesting to me." Surprisingly,
the studio isn't overwhelmed with woodworking equipment and tools. "People
come to my studio and say, 'Where is your equipment?' And I show them my two hands,"
Caprice said. "I do think of my hands as the most important tools I own."
"1849 Flag" for Dakota County's Apple Valley Government Center, aluminum
and wood | The
range of Glaser's work is stunning. For example, her piece 1849 Flag, located
in the Apple Valley (Minn.) Government Center, cleanly shows the contrasts between
aluminum and wood. Then there's Where the Sun Meets the River, a sculpture that
spans the length of a viaduct bridge in St. Paul and incorporates artwork by community
youth. Glaser
is currently working on a 13-foot tall stainless steel and epoxy sculpture, Heart
of the City, for the city of Minneapolis, and is designing the fabrication construction
for a 12-foot tall bronze sculpture for the Lyndale Park Peace Garden in Minneapolis,
which was modeled after the Hiroshima Peace Park in Japan.
"Heart of the City" sculpture model for Minneapolis Animal Control and
Care Center; finished piece is 13' tall, stainless steel and epoxy | Glaser's
Peace Garden sculpture, Spirit of Peace, depicts the folding of an origami paper
crane with a completed paper crane stretching its wings at the top. Stone seating
will surround the sculpture with bronze plaques instructing how to fold a paper
crane. Each
year in August, visitors hang paper cranes on trees and shrubs at peace gardens
throughout the world to honor Sadako Sasaki and other children who died as a result
of radiation from the atomic bombs being dropped on Japan. Sadako was 2 years
old when the atomic bomb devastated Hiroshima; she developed cancer at age 11.
A friend told Sadako of the Japanese legend that people who fold a thousand paper
cranes would be granted a wish. Sadako folded more than 1,000 paper cranes before
she died a year later; her wish was to be healthy again. When
Glaser's sculpture is unveiled next year, it will mark the 50th anniversary of
Sadako's death and 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
"People understand the sadness and sickness of war more clearly when they
hear that story," Caprice said. "People need to think about peace more
than war. I'm grateful the community liked my design." As
the Peace Park sculpture demonstrates, Glaser strives to accurately capture the
feel and form of what a public artwork represents. "The most fun is when
you get light bulbs of creativity, where you say, That's the way I need it to
be, and get driven to get back to work," Caprice said. "It's a relief
to come up with the right idea, as well as a joy.
"Dickinson: Setting the Pace" wood mural | "There's
a lot of pressure in commission art. You really expect a lot from yourself. I'm
really lucky to be creating art that people get to see, rather than just put it
under my bed." The
fact that Glaser works in wood sometimes surprises observers of her work. At the
Dickinson installation, Caprice was approached by a guest who said, I was sure
you were going to be a man! "I
get that a lot," Caprice said. "It's kind of funny - people's ideas
about where you should come from. There's a belief that woodworking is a man's
world, but that's not true." "I
even do my own welding," she said, laughing. <<<
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