Focus on this artwork and explore the Historical information.
Chrysalis is located in the entrance of the Marion Chester Read Center. Marion Chester Read pays tribute to the legacy of the Chester Read family, and more specifically, Marion, who continues to inspire others by her support of the Girl Scouting and the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast. 1921, Alice Chester, a community activist and philanthropist, became the first president of the local organization. She decided that the young women in Girl scouts needed a permanent summer camp. In turn, she bought a 125-acre site, which was later on given her name. 1987, a new headquarters building for the Girl Scouts of the Milwaukee Area was completed and is managed by descendants of Alice Chester. After the Center was completed, employees of Gammex Inc. offered support for a sculpture to be placed in the front of the building. Along with the patronage from the Charles and Margaret Lescrenier family, a $15,000 commission for a sculpture was offered. This is when Ms. Beth Sahagian learned of the commission and submitted drawings and a model to the patrons of the Girl Scout officials. Beth Sahagian chose to invoke a feeling of growth and change by creating an abstraction of a natural cocoon form. The materials she used, Indiana limestone and bronze, contrasted with the simplicity of the form. The linear texture carved into the sculpture gives variation and texture to the surface, and the bronze tendrils that are bonded to the stone are done so to give the artwork a feeling of growth and evolution. Chrysalis has a nearby plaque that reads: CHRYSALIS/A GIFT TO/GIRL SCOUTS OF MILWAUKEE AREA/FROM THE/CHARLES & MARGARET LESCRENIER FAMILY/ARTIST: BETH SAHAGIAN/(logo) 1990. She collaborated with other artists from the Hartbronze Inc. foundry to complete and transport the work to its location.
bronze Girl Scouts limestone Beth Sahagian