ON THE BLOG:

Artist's final prepartions for journey, June 17, 2013

by Anna Huntington, community arts coordinator for the Sculpture Project

Masayuki Nagase and his wife, Michele Ku, have been working nonstop making final preparations for his journey to Rapid City to begin Passage of Wind and Water. The sculptor will leave his home in Berkeley tomorrow and arrive in Rapid City this week!

Earlier this month, the artist spent a day driving all over the Bay Area tracking down the best dust collector to use at Main Street Square – compact, efficient, quiet. Another day he was researching the giant, SUV-sized prehistoric turtles, archelon, that once inhabited the Badlands. And always it's making many, many connections with people in the Black Hills, Badlands, and Bay Area who are knowledgeable and passionate about the Rapid City region's history and culture.

In March, Nagase traveled to his homeland, Japan, where he purchased special granite carving tools not available in the U.S. The traditional, hand-forged tools are similar to those the artist learned to work with as a young apprentice in the granite quarries of Japan. read more

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