Migration

This is Dana Senge. I live in Mancos, Colorado, in the foothills of the San Juan Mountains and near Mesa Verde National Park, unceded lands of the Nuchu and Dine, lands once occupied by Ancient Puebloans. 

I’m excited to share a little about my sculpture, Migration. 

Migration was inspired by time spent in southern Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert and near the border between the United States and Mexico. 

In this piece you can find beings that migrate through the Sonoran Desert, several of which cross the border as part of their natural life cycle. Sandhill cranes, humans, burrowing owls, jaguars and even gray whales are included in this piece. (And the little note on the gray whale- technically they migrate into the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez. 
This body of water is surrounded by the Sonoran Desert and is considered part of it). 

As I developed this piece, I thought of it as an interesting juxtaposition of concepts, a stationary wall of migrators. A wall that inhibits movement or migration, as does the border wall. 

The wall, the animal forms, were first sculpted in clay, which was then carved to evoke the visual of mesquite branches. 
The clay forms were fired, stained, and fired a second time to create their final appearance. 

Thank you for checking out the exhibit and thank you to the Arvada Center Galleries for including this piece in Art of the State 2025.