...stopping at Oleander Point

Recently I read online that our city's shoreline will have a new bronze statue erected at Oleander Point, an extension of Cole Park [along the city's bay shore, near the seawall and the downtown area]. Late in the afternoon, I loved the warm yellow glows of the sunlight, with the deep blue sky as a backdrop. While driving [or walking like we sometimes do] at the seawall on Shoreline Drive/Ocean Drive [the same street - but along the ritzy residential area it's Ocean Drive...while after arriving in the downtown area it changes its name to Shoreline Drive], you can see quite a few bronze statues along the way. Further along, there are fountains, a display that is spaced quite a distance apart which depicts the solar system and all the planets and sun], statues of swordfish, historical figures, airplanes, bird life. Not to mention some bizarre works, but I won't get into that.

The artist's latest work of sculpture is entitled "The Wind Dancer". If you know a bit about folklore and the mysteries of the life of a sailor, you probably have heard of the myth of a mermaid, a siren, who lures men to them only to take them deep into the depths of the sea and the sailors never return. For this particular piece of work, I must admit, it's really NOT a mermaid, but the lore came to mind when I first glanced at it. I like it best of all that are here along the area. "The Wind Dancer"...

From what I gathered after reading about it, she is facing to the south. South because of the fact that around here, the prevailing winds come into the city from the South. At least 99% of the time. She is 'dancing' in the wind atop a wave...and just below her body, in the sea, is a dolphin [which you can see in the first photo posted]. It was a beautiful day...we had walked an hour or so, just drinking in the warm subtropical winter afternoon and enjoying the sea breeze in our faces. As we walked, we did a good pastime; people watching. Being a weekend day, balmy, seems a lot of the populace was doing the same...there were skateboarders, bikers, families out with their dogs, people sitting on the seawall benches feeding the seagulls, and lots of passers-by.

But, let me get back to the new sculpture along the way! It took several hours to hoist it up on its cement pedestal by crane...the weight - 1500 pounds. I found its measurement in height - 16 feet. Of course the material is obvious - bronze. And this particular time of day, with the sun near setting made the bronze cast a yellow glow. The artist - H.W. Tatum. As of this visit on Saturday, the area is not complete yet, so it's still cordoned off for now. When the area is finished, there will be landscaping surrounding it, a walkway to be able to stand by it --and perhaps [just guessing here; not knowing for sure yet] there will be a water feature around the base. The reason I say this is that I saw piping along the pedestal about halfway up/down. If my guess is correct, it will add to the ambiance very well. If tastefully done, that is.

Look closely at the previous image...standing behind the fencing, I'm not sure if this is bronze, I think so...a highly polished bronze, but a starfish clings to her ear as if her jewel of the sea. The artist, H.W. Tatum, of course, hails from Corpus Christi and has donated several pieces of his work to the city. One very popular one is that beautiful statuesque Tejano singer/entertainer that was popular, Selena ...life sized that memorializes her untimely death. Very popular, as I stated. We, at times see many many out of state tourists near her life-sized statue near the marina.

connecting to:
Blue Monday
Monday Mellow Yellows