We are honored to announce a new addition to the Arboretum’s permanent art collection: Sacred Earth, a cast bronze sculpture created by Cherokee Nation member Karen Sixkiller and dedicated in memory of Joan Sandgren Bridges.
Joan’s family chose the Arboretum for this unique and meaningful tribute, as the gardens were a special place for her; she visited often during her 30 years in Asheville, where she spent the final years of her life. Located in the Stream Garden, Sacred Earth explores magical realism and symbolism, combining a larger-than-life water beetle with the faceted, geometric “mud” it perches on. It tells one of the oldest Cherokee stories where a humble water beetle dove to the bottom of the ocean and brought up mud to create all the solid land we now live on.
Karen shared that “Sacred Earth was inspired both by the Cherokee creation story and my own feelings of appreciation and reverence for the land that ultimately feeds, clothes, shelters and makes our lives possible. Earth is more than ‘dirt,’ it has its own life, structure, and legacy that can add magic and wonder to our lives if we slow down and pay attention to it. Sharing these understandings through placement at The North Carolina Arboretum is an honor as the arboretum setting holds the sculpture like a jewel within some of our ancestral lands.”
“Similar to writing a novel, I made several drafts of the Cherokee Water Beetle idea before finding his final form,” said Karen. “These maquettes are like 3D sketches for sculptors. Once I felt comfortable with the beetle form I waited for the right way to represent the mud he retrieved from the bottom of the ocean to make all our solid land. My mother suggested stylizing it, making the ‘mud’ into an ultra-modern angular form. That was the genesis of my realization that as the first piece of earth, this was much more than mud; this was the first piece of living soil that would ultimately house, feed and nurture the vast diversity of life we all know. ‘Sacred Earth’ was born! By making the ‘mud’ angular and faceted like a gem, it’s very form communicates how precious it is.”
In the Stream Garden, the sculpture is underplanted with Asarum canadense, Wild Ginger. This native Southwestern Appalachian groundcover is a shade-loving, perennial plant with a small brownish red bloom that is fragrant and hidden under the leaves. It’s pollinated by flies and beetles and as it matures, its leaves will move in a breeze, creating the impression of water, with the sculpture appearing to rise from its depths.
Drake Fowler, Executive Director, added “Artists help us all see ourselves in a different light. Here at the Arboretum, when we match an artist’s vision to a special place in nature, the emotional impact sinks deeper into your soul. Adding Sacred Earth by Karen Sixkiller to our gardens is a true honor, and we could not have done this without the vision and generosity from the family and friends of Joan Sandgren Bridges.”
Joan lived from 1929 to 2022. Before her passing, she asked for the following poem to be shared in her memory and we were honored to do so at a special dedication ceremony of Sacred Earth last month:
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of the intelligent persons and the affection of children;
to earn the approbation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self;
to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation;
to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived – this is to have succeeded.
“In her life, she succeeded in all these ways and more,” her family shared.
We are deeply grateful to Joan’s family and friends for their generosity and honored to celebrate her legacy through the powerful and beautiful sculpture, Sacred Earth, by Karen Sixkiller.
To see more of Karen’s work visit: karensixkiller.com