The Village Gallery of Local Artists is delighted to unveil a bronze sculpture entitled “Mustard” created by Lenore Hemingway. The reception and celebration with food and drinks will be held on Friday, December 7 from 5-8:30 pm. The unveiling will take place at 5:30 pm. The limited edition bronze will be available to order exclusively at the gallery.

Lenore is known for her colorfully designed and shaped mosaic wall pieces which are recognized as artistic treasures in homes all over the world.  Her love for learning and experimenting with combining different forms of art led her to want to create a bronze mosaic art piece.  She initially envisioned a javelina with mosaic tile set onto it, but instead, her sculpture materialized with an innovative mosaic-like design, adding a bit of whimsy to realism.

The story behind naming the sculpture “Mustard” speaks to Lenore’s personal philosophy of kindness in thought and deed. She explained, “I hate the taste of mustard and didn’t want to name my first piece after something I did not like, but, the name just kept coming back to me. I decided to just accept it. Now whenever I look at my javelina sculpture, it makes me smile and reminds me of the power that words have.  The lesson I learned from Mustard, is to remove the word hate from my vocabulary and replace it with “I am not fond of… ” or, “it isn’t my favorite…”

Lenore took a sculpture class from master sculptor John Soderberg, where she learned valuable clay sculpting skills. When she decided to pursue her dream of making a javelina, she got it started, and then contacted Sedona sculptor Barbara Brown and flourished under her guidance. Lenore says, “Barbara was an amazing cheerleader and encouraged me to follow my heart with my sculpture. I wouldn’t have made a bronze except for her insistence and I appreciate all she taught me.”

Lenore’s debut in bronze sculpture reflects her lifelong connection with animals. She grew up on a farm, where she believed all the animals were her pets and friends.  As an adult, she did part time wildlife rehabilitation for birds and small mammals in New Mexico and Colorado.  When she moved to Sedona in 2006, Lenore specialized in rehabilitating hummingbirds for 5 years.  During her rehab efforts, she twice had the opportunity to work with newborn javelina.  Lenore says “They captured my love and heart and I just knew javelina had to be my first sculpture.”

The Village Gallery is located at 6512 Hwy 179 in the Village of Oak Creek at the roundabout on Hwy 179 and Cortez. For more information call 284-1416 or visit www.sedonalocalartists.com.