Ringling Library Sculpture

Two Ringling students won the Mitzner Markle Women's Sculpture Competition with their design of a wood sculpture involving two 13 foot Australian pine tree trunks. Dale had helped them fine tune their proposal by providing critical information such as specifications for engineering for wind loads and maintenance guidelines for longevity. He was then asked to fabricate the sculpture when their concept was chosen. It was a classic case of good design: its appearance was simple and masked its complex construction. The sculpture was made of Australian pine, which is very dense. It took several hours to drill each 2x18” hole straight into the bottom of the logs. Weight was also an issue. Each log weighed nearly 4000 lbs and heavy equipment was required to move them. Lastly, it was a careful dance to keep the sculpture plum and true on the irregularly shaped trees.

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