Simply Elemental 2017

17. Wave
By Milia Boroyevich, Darcy Meeker, Nikki Pynn

This piece is inspired by the story of Mary Draper Ingles and her epic journey home from captivity. Escaping her Shawnee captors at Big Bone Salt Lick in 1755, Mary Draper Ingles and her companion took the only way they knew to return home – backtracking their path as captives, following rivers. Traveling over 500 miles along the Ohio, Kanawha, and New Rivers, Mary endured wilderness travel on foot, dangerous river rapids crossings, and intense starvation to reach Home. Rapids move tumultuously, pushing through rock beds, carrying logs like twigs. Images of rivers and mountains, Mary's perseverance in returning Home and the trials she overcame, provided the context for our sculpture.

The curves and twists evoke the shapes of the Allegheny mountains, the movement of the historic rivers and the dramatic events of the journey. The strength and perseverance of an individual such as Mary Draper Ingles is not commonly found in nature, nor is the purple color chosen for our sculpture.

This piece can be found in Peggy's Meadow.