After finishing the Delicate Arch hike, we went to the visitor center, near the park entrance.
Dedicated on September 17, 2005, the Arches National park visitor center includes, outside the front entrance, Matthew Gray Palmer’s Desert Animal Series sculptures – a bighorn ram, ewe and lamb, two ravens and two lizards. These still life animals are popular with visitors (pdf).
The sculptures provide a close-up look at these magnificent animals. To make the sculptures, the artist first made life-size wax models of the animals. A mold was made from the wax, into which molten bronze was poured. Additional details are worked into the bronze by hand to make the pieces as realistic as possible.
Palmer, a resident of Washington state, is a mixed media sculptor who also draws and paints. In 1995 he created Parallaxis, “an endeavor dedicated to making a difference in the world by educating people about natural science and conservation through public works of art and multimedia events.”
Raven:
Raven:
Bighorn sheep ewe:
Bighorn sheep ram:
Bighorn sheep lamb:
Bighorn sheep ram:
Whiptail lizard:
Selected Information Resources:
Arches National Park.
