Library sculpture project on schedule for upcoming install

The advance of spring brings with it all sorts of anticipation; the thaw of the lakes, the world awakening after snowmelt, being able to get into your garden or vineyard...and for some art lovers, spring 2013 will mean the sculpture of Nellie Gustafson will be unveiled. Gustafson was a very able midwife, who was of service in delivering hundreds of babies throughout this region around the turn of the century. She is slowly becoming three-dimensional through the vision of sculptor Ian Dudley. Dudley has works at the Bell Museum in Minneapolis among several other sites in the U.S. Nellie will be seated in a buggy and will be installed outside the Chisago Lakes library on the lawn by the highway. Sections of her bronze likeness were recently cast at a foundry in Osceola, and Dudley is at work bringing Nellie to life for installation. He based this piece on historical photos and fact gathering in Sweden and looking over journals and print materials. Wheels of the buggy are six feet across. Nellie herself is about 20 percent larger than lifesize. The Nellie Gustafson piece is made possible by the MN Arts Legacy Amendment and library funding. Dudley is also contracted for a public sculpture triangle in downtown Lindstrom. Three Lindstrom forefathers, also cast of bronze, will be installed as upright figures and will be situated across the highway in the vacant area next to the chiropractic building, across from the Chisago County Press.