Labors of Love
Yes, this is Labor Day weekend, so let’s celebrate our WORK, and workers of all kinds. In my close generations of family, we offer kudos to teachers, to farm- and factory-workers, health care providers, railroaders, bank clerks, pilots, public safety and conservation workers. Today, what an honor it was to meet 3 artists who work in 3 dimensions, yet manage to pull from dimensions unseeable that we recognize with an inner sense far deeper than the standard five.
Two years ago, at the ripe old age of 28, Grizzly 399 died in a highway collision in the Snake River Canyon north of Alpine, Wyoming, when a driver swerved to avoid the last of her lifetime’s 18 cubs. She had thrived amid the many challenges of her homeland in Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest, and had become an icon of this landscape, often visible from roadways in open meadows or along waterways. Her legions of admirers longed for a suitable way to honor her legacy as an ambassador for threatened wildlife. One of those people was area photographer Sonia Reid, who reached out to a skilled sculptor friend. Jocelyn Russell had encountered this bear’s powerful presence in 2020, the year she emerged from her den with her only set of quadruplets. And despite no patron commissioning this work of art—a bronze monument was underway.
With Sonia’s many photographs as their guide, Russell and her team, including Kristen Douglas-Seitz and Colleen Moore, moved forward, gathering grateful funders and donors along the way. Their own labors have primarily been fueled by love of all this matriarch stood for, as well as the joy their art brings them in practicing their skills and sharing their creation. The monument of 399 with her 4 cubs will be installed at the entrance to the National Museum of Wildlife Art, with a livestreamed dedication on 9/9, this Wednesday. Click here to find out more.
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