I call my ArtPrize 2011 entry The PHOENIX which is a symbol of immortality from Egyptian Mythology. The Phoenix is a beautiful lone bird which lives in the dessert for hundreds of years and then sets itself on fire, rising from the ashes to start another life. It is symbolic of the struggles we are experiencing in Michigan as our manufacturing base has been and continues to be challenged to its core. Historically Michigan's economy has cycled through good times and bad. Each time it has recovered, its renewed prosperity has been based upon technology from before. Once again we are poised to resurrect ourselves to become something we could not have imagined even a few years ago. This opportunity for rebirth and rebuilding is what I want my sculpture to represent. Although there are still remnants of an old and crumbling infrastructure, those are nearly extinct. Already a beautiful new form is rising from the ashes and soaring toward the future.

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