The Season of Plum and Cobblestone: Fall at Grounds for Sculpture

On Sunday I picked up Godmommy Gina and introduced her to Grounds for Sculpture. We had such a good time, even though I can be super controlling at times. I have this vision of how I want people to experience things and I can be a bit bossy at times. Luckily Aunt Gina has known me long enough to ignore this annoying quirk and we had a great day together. The highlight for us was when I took her through The Forest of the Subconscious. I never realised that the piece at the end of the path was Heart's Desire (made in 2008) and that it was by Gloria Vanderbilt. There was a lovely employee there, an older gent named Fred Mitchell (who had a touch of a Scottish (methinks?) accent) who asked us what we thought of it. I told him I loved it but he wanted to know more. Usually people are content to hear a positive reply and that's it, but Mr. Mitchell actually cared about our reaction. Aunt Gina said it reminded her of things found in someone's attic. (How insightful and fabulous is that?!) Mr. Mitchell then went on to discuss the behind the scenes knowledge that he had about what the artist may have been trying to convey. Having very recently read two of her books I knew of Gloria's life and Mr. Mitchell and I talked back and forth about the major events of the artist's life - the loss of her father at an early age, the utter lack of love from her mother, the label of "poor little rich girl", the death of her beloved husband Wyatt and her son, Carter - and how it all came together in Heart's Desire. It's definitely one of the best pieces of sculpture at GFS and one that I go to each time I visit.