Snow Sculpture

The artist Seven calls this piece Tribute to New Life. The work is a representation of a baby about to begin its emergence from the womb. . .to life. Her gender is indicated by the bow on her head, which is sculpted from the life-sustaining potato. Her eyes, also potato, stare unafraid and unblinking toward her future. She is ready to face the world. She has a small smile playing about her lips like the Mona Lisa. She is at once excited but hesitant to begin her journey. The large bulbous nose represents the vast insight she will need to sniff out the bullshit thrown at her as an adult, while the crooked, misshapen arms represent the imperfections all human beings are born with.

Um, so that's what a snowman looks like? I had no idea. I really thought that snowmen looked like Frosty. Three round balls of decreasing size placed atop one another with a carrot nose and a tophat. Apparently, we didn't have a carrot for the nose and I'm not sure what's going on with those arms.

Nicky and Seven made this snowman last winter. I love this snowman for so many reasons. It gave me a good laugh. I love people who make me laugh, and I was in stitches everytime I saw it for the duration of its short life. Poor thing toppled over after a day or two. This snowman is also the first snowman that Nicky and Seven made together.

"Mommy, mommy! Come see what we made," he shouted to me when they were done. His eyes were sparkling and he was so excited. "See! A snowman," he said laughing. Is that what that is? He couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't stop laughing either, but for very different reasons than Nicky. It was just the funniest damn thing I'd ever seen.

Nicky is not a child that is easily excited about things. Maybe it's because his feelings run very deep that he's so careful with them. His emotions are slow to ignite, but when they do, they catch fire. His anger, his joy, his excitement, they just fill up the space he's in. His pride in that goofy-looking snowman filled up the whole outdoors.

I loved seeing him in that moment. I have this "work of art" to thank for that, and I will always be grateful.