Learning to Fly

Lori Norwood

1997

Lori Norwood's fun and child-like sculpture is located at the Milwood Branch Library in Austin. The sculpture is guarded by trees that surround the piece, making it hard to see from the outside. As you approach it, the trees open up, and the full range of the sculptures is visible. Upon closer examination, each individual sculpture takes its own form and personality. The life-size figures all have different attributes that indicate its gender and age range. The piece conveys the happiness of being a child, and the wonder and majesty that is involved with learning as you grow older. Its location outside of a library indicates how the piece illustrates the exhilarating and liberating nature that comes with learning in a community. The library is across the street from the North Austin Montessori School, and the laughter coming from the children playing at recess only adds to the juvenile happiness that "Learning to Fly" brings out in the viewer.

Bobby Garcia