By Lorraine Clark
One of the projects for the Ely Renaissance Society this summer (2002) is the creation of a sculpture to honor and recognize the Native American people of this area. Developing this sculpture has been an interesting process.
The idea of the piece was proposed in the fall of 2001. One of the murals planned for 2002 was a tribute to the notable people who developed White Pine County or had a part in its history. Four governors of the state who came from the area, a former first lady, a senator and cabinet member, and business developers were all selected.
But it seemed only appropriate to recognize the first inhabitants of the area also. Thus the concept for the Native American piece began to form.
The County Park site selected for the piece, also the site for the “In Tribute” mural, already had a War Memorial to honor veterans from the area. It seems fitting to create a “Peace Memorial” as a compliment to the sculpture pieces. Thus a Native American woman with her child emerged.
Discussions with Native American residents were held and agreement was quickly reached that this theme would be appropriate. One of the people involved with the Renaissance Society, Delanie Spillsbury, is a Shoshone and offered to serve as a model for the piece.
Photographs were taken of her in various poses and then a local artist, Donna Carling Jones, made sketches. Further discussions were held to determine just how the figure would be placed.
Members of the Renaissance Society, Virginia Terry, Lorraine and Darl Clark, and Donna Carling Jones, then had the opportunity to travel to Elko for a sculpting class offered by Great Basin College in September of 2001. Sculptor Joe Pachak taught the class and took us through the steps of determining an idea, making the sketches,
and then constructing the steel armature that forms the inside support for a piece. He demonstrated the final step of coating the piece with a concrete acrylic mixture that forms a durable surface.
Working with Joe Pachak was a fascinating experience and after the threeday class, we were confident that we could work with him to create a large piece to add to our growing outdoor art exhibit.
Correspondence continued over the winter and arrangements were made for him to be in Ely during the next summer to create a sculpture with the aid of volunteers from the community including those of us from the class. The photos and sketches were sent to Joe to give him a chance to determine if the subject was possible and to work on the internal structure.
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