The reimagining of a sculpture that was once destroyed in downtown Lake Oswego now sits as a centerpiece within the Price Sculpture Forest in Coupeville, Washington. Instead of ceramic clay, the new version is bronze and has lines running through it that exemplify destruction and renewal.
“When you go through a terrible, shattering thing, you pick yourself up. The scars from going through those things make you stronger. I wanted that message to be true for her because I didn’t want the negative forces to win,” sculptor Maris Wickwire said. “To me she is about healing, everything from a personal level to a societal and spiritual level.”
Years after the destruction of “Anillos” — which depicted a woman hunched over with her hands on her feet, stood in Lake Oswego for over a decade and won the Arts Council of Lake Oswego’s People’s Choice Award in 2007 — Wickwire was commissioned by the sculpture forest to sculpt a new version. The sculpture was unveiled during an event in late April.
A person who the police described at the time as mentally ill destroyed “Anillos” — which stood near Peet’s Coffee — and another sculpture in downtown Lake Oswego in July 2019. Wickwire’s sculpture was cut in half and the remains stayed with the police until they were returned in 2020, according to Wickwire. Wickwire knew she wanted to rebuild the piece and said she received encouragement from Lake Oswego residents to do so, but felt the project seemed daunting and so tabled it for a while.
“I was shocked. I was sorry and sad (that the piece was destroyed). Compared to losing my husband, sculptures and items in the world are just stuff. But at the same time her story didn’t seem to be over yet. This piece had more to say. This piece could be stronger and better,” Wickwire said.
Wickwire used the remains to make a mold that retained the cracks from when she glued the pieces back together; bronze was then cast into the mold. A foundry in Seattle shined the piece by sandblasting ceramic shards into it and painted gold into the cracks.
The piece didn’t return to Lake Oswego because the city’s insurance wouldn’t cover the cost of a replacement. The price of creating it anew appreciated the value compared to the original sculpture, according to Wickwire and Arts Council of Lake Oswego Executive Director Nicole Nathan. The city bought the original piece for $7,000.
“It was beyond our control to have the piece back in the collection,” Nathan said, adding that the arts community misses it and describing Wickwire’s work as incredible.
Wickwire instead connected with the Price Sculpture Forest during a pandemic Zoom meeting with Pacific Northwest Sculpture. Sculpture forest founder Scott Price was quickly sold on the idea of bringing “Anillos” into the collection. Price liked that the lines running through “Anillos” are comparable to the rings that show the age of a tree.
“She was expressing that people have stories like trees have stories, and stories are told in a similar way,” Price said. “It fits in perfectly with our nature-nurture theme.”
He added: “It was even better than I was expecting.”
Price said the sculpture is currently somewhat of a forest centerpiece.
“We gave it a place of honor right out front as you come into the park. It’s a great way for people to get introduced,” he said.
Wickwire is open to creating a replica of “Anillos” in Lake Oswego if local community members want to help pay for it. Price said anonymous donations helped pay for the new sculpture.
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