POLAR BEARS

H 8.5ft x W 4.5ft

2.60m x 1.37m

.Holland America Cruise Line

 MS Zuiderdam

This sculpture had a checkered history – we made the rubber and plaster mold on 9/11 while watching the twin towers fall. It was, to say the least, memorable. When the sculpture arrived in Trieste, Italy, I received a call from Fincantieri shipyard that the magrodome sliding ceiling was about to decapitate the polar bear sculpture. The site plans that I initially received had been updated without my knowledge, in other words the polar bear was taller than the height of the sliding ceiling on the pool deck. I immediately dispatched my colleague who had fabricated the resin iceberg base to reduce the height. At the inauguration, I suffered through an unreliable companion only to find him paralytically drunk on the evening of the event. But one enthusiastic passenger who loved the ship, paid me the complement that it was the loveliest item on board because it reminded her of the wilds of Alaska in winter – I was much relieved.