Title: Early Bird
Artist: Judy McKie
Year: 2006
Medium: Bronze
Location: Center City Park at Elm St.
This bronze bench sculpture was designed by furniture designer Judy McKie who was inspired by Native American depictions of wildlife.
Judy McKie is a furniture designer born in Boston. After earning a degree in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design she began work as a graphic designer. (In fact, several of her cloth wall-hangings were used as tents at Woodstock.)
In the early 1970’s Judy began making furniture and by the end of the decade was gaining national recognition in shows, commissions, and awards. Her interest in the primitive animal motifs of pre-Columbian, African, and Native American art shows in her whimsical sculptural furniture with its colorful carved animal forms. By the early 1990s, Judy had begun casting tables and benches in bronze.
“I want to make art that people love. The things I enjoy are light in feeling and there is visually something a little naïve about them. They tend to be playful and personal and they are somewhat subtle... Those are the kinds of objects that I choose to have around me. So when I make something, I try to imbue the object I'm making with the quality of the things I appreciate." - With Addison Parks, Artdeal Magazine, 1994