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June 3, 2013

River City Sculptures on Parade–Part 1

28 Comments/ 3750/ 0

Mason City is home to a lot of great things—-the last remaining Frank Lloyd Wright hotel–The Historic Park Inn which I blogged about here, many parks and recreation areas, a fabulous renovated library complete with coffee shop, The Stockman House, a wonderful historical area featuring Prairie School architecture in Rock Glen ( It is the largest collection of prairie style homes in a natural setting in the world), Music Man Square which pays homage to Meredith Willson of The Music Man fame and now—-River City Sculptures on Parade ( this is their Facebook page link).

We have waited to “take the walk” until all the sculptures were installed and today was the day to do it.  It was a bright sunny crisp day and the perfect Sunday afternoon outing to introduce Carlton (Chris’s brother who is visiting) to Mason City.  I picked up maps and ballots at the library earlier in the week and we prepped him on what we were going to be doing.  Voting on a People’s Choice Award will be valid through September 2, 2013 and the sculpture with the most votes will be purchased by the city to become part of a permanent collection.

There are 26 sculptures in all—too many to include in one post so I will spread this out over a few posts and will include links to past posts in case you miss one and want to see them all.  It is a pretty amazing thing and we all enjoyed walking the downtown and taking it all in.  A great thing for Mason City so if you live close please consider taking the time to take it all in.

I will feature the sculptures in the order that they are presented in the brochure and the walking trail.

Matriarchal Moon Creature by Reven Swanson

Matriarchal Moon Creature by Reven Swanson

3d6+4 by Craig Snyder

3d6+4 by Craig Snyder

3d6+4 by Craig Snyder

3d6+4 by Craig Snyde

The dice sparked a bit of controversy in our little town.  Some objected to the “gambling” aspect but the artist related that it was really a depiction of board games like Yahtzee that he remembered playing while he was growing up.  The real issue appears to be the placement of the dice in the shade garden in city park—-much to the dismay of those who take care of the gardens they were positioned in a way that damaged some of the gardens.  You can read one of the many articles pertaining to this in the Globe Gazette by clicking on this link.

Check Up by Carol Cunningham

Check Up by Carol Cunningham

All in the Same Boat by Kyle Fokken

All in the Same Boat by Kyle Fokken with Carlton

Jumping Through Hoops by Jacque Frazee

Jumping Through Hoops by Jacque Frazee

Jumping Through Hoops by Jacque Frazee

Jumping Through Hoops by Jacque Frazee

Effortlessly Buoyant by Gregory Mendez

Effortlessly Buoyant by Gregory Mendez

Can you tell who the sculptor modeled the sculpture after???

Can you tell who the sculptor modeled the sculpture after???

Friendship Knot (4) by Yupin Pramotepipop

Friendship Knot (4) by Yupin Pramotepipop

And yes—that is part of the Historic Park Inn in the background!

Bottoms Up by Deb Zeller

Bottoms Up by Deb Zeller

Which is your favorite so far?? Stay tuned for future installments of this fabulous display in our town. Don’t forget–Comments for a Cause this month goes to help support a Habitat for Humanity trip for my niece and her husband!!!!   Thanks!

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Carol Cunningham Craig Snyder Deb Zeller Gregory Mendez Historic Park Inn IA Jacque Frazee Kyle Fokken mason city Mason City Globe Gazette prairie school architecture Reven Swanson River City Sculptures on Parade Rock Glen sculpture walk The Stockman House Yupin Pramotepipop
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28 Comments

Leave a comment
  1. Minnesota Prairie Roots
    June 03, 2013 at 08:26 am

    I love these types of temporary public sculptures and have seen two such art displays in Mankato and Bemidji. What a great way to bring art to the people and what a great way to get people into the heart of a downtown. Favorite sculpture thus far would be the boat one, probably for the message it conveys in a creative way. What a wonderful way to spend a lovely Sunday afternoon. One more reason to visit Mason City…

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 03, 2013 at 09:28 am

      I told Chris when we were walking it yesterday “This would be something Audrey would LOVE”. Were your ears burning?? When you get a free day think about it! Just make sure i am in town! 🙂

      Reply
  2. poemsandponderings
    June 03, 2013 at 11:36 am

    “Check up” (the boy and his dog) by far. Followed by “bottoms up”.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 03, 2013 at 02:14 pm

      I think I have to agree with you …but wait…there are a lot more coming!!! 🙂

      Reply
  3. treadlemusic
    June 03, 2013 at 11:59 am

    The boy & dog is sweet….really like the dice! It’s so quirky!!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 03, 2013 at 02:14 pm

      I love the dice—so much controversy around it, though. 🙂

      Reply
      1. treadlemusic
        June 03, 2013 at 04:58 pm

        I think “sense of humor” should have a place…..even in a garden bed!!!!!

        Reply
        1. Beth Ann
          June 03, 2013 at 05:47 pm

          🙂

          Reply
  4. benzeknees
    June 03, 2013 at 01:31 pm

    I have to say Check Up is definitely my favorite, but then I’m such a softie for anything pet related. You are very lucky to be able to see all this wonderful art in one place!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 03, 2013 at 02:13 pm

      It is a really neat exhibit–the one with the most votes will be purchased for the city but I bet that some of the others will be too!. At least I hope so!

      Reply
  5. bocafrau
    June 03, 2013 at 02:11 pm

    I like the bottoms up one. It reminds me of middle daughter – she always does hand stands in the pool and I have a “million” pictures of her doing it! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 03, 2013 at 02:13 pm

      Oh I can so totally see her doing that!!! Yep–that one would be her!!!

      Reply
  6. Joanna
    June 03, 2013 at 03:46 pm

    Since I loved going to the pool in the summer I have to go with Bottoms Up BUT I do like the Check Up one as well. Can’t wait to see what else is out there.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 03, 2013 at 04:26 pm

      Stay tuned!!!! Thanks for stopping by!!!

      Reply
  7. My Odd Family
    June 03, 2013 at 05:24 pm

    The dice. Time to shake things up a bit in Mason.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 03, 2013 at 05:47 pm

      I agree. I have to be careful what I say here. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Helen Brown
    June 03, 2013 at 10:42 pm

    My favorite one is the boy and dog.

    Reply
  9. pattisj
    June 04, 2013 at 12:23 am

    “Checkup” is my favorite.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 04, 2013 at 07:41 am

      Seems to be the favorite today!

      Reply
  10. Pix Under the Oaks
    June 04, 2013 at 07:42 am

    I love the friendship knot and think a smaller, much smaller version would make a cool necklace!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 04, 2013 at 07:47 am

      I liked that one, too! Come back Thursday—more then and probably more Saturday—-I haven’t written the posts yet but they are coming!!!

      Reply
  11. River City Sculptures on Parade—Part 2 – It's Just Life
    June 06, 2013 at 06:01 am

    […] As promised today I will give you more of the sculptures from our wonderful traveling exhibition that is located in downtown Mason City.  To see the first selections click on this link and it will open a new window with my post featuring the first 8 sculptures. […]

    Reply
  12. TBM
    June 06, 2013 at 08:51 am

    Hard to choose one, but I stopped longer on Effortlessly Buoyant. And how did I miss this post? Good thing you linked to it. Shame on me!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 06, 2013 at 09:03 am

      I loved that one, too. There are a few that didn’t really do much for me but for the most part I kept saying “Oh –I love this one”. 🙂

      Reply
  13. CMSmith
    June 06, 2013 at 10:19 am

    I liked effortlessly buoyant the best. Loved the shot of you. No contest. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann
      June 06, 2013 at 11:42 am

      I am so photogenic . Not.

      Reply
  14. River City Sculptures on Parade–The Final Post – It's Just Life
    June 08, 2013 at 06:05 am

    […] .  Now we wait until September to see what the People’s Choice will be.  My previous posts here and here show the first […]

    Reply
  15. The Rest of the Story – It's Just Life
    August 19, 2013 at 06:01 am

    […] opinion, has been the Sculpture Walk that they have installed this year.  I blogged about it here and here and here!  It took me 3 posts to show them all and many of you commented on the beauty […]

    Reply

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