Fitting lower lip. The sculpture is made piece by piece.

Talking with Joe Carter, head of the board African American Heritage Trail. It’s always important to keep everyone informed about progress on a project, and get their input.

Various clips of welding on Rebecca. The tree of life that she brought with her became quite the welding task, with it spiraling about her head. The original drawing was not clear about this form, but when the welding started, the form and meaning emerged. My goal in public art is to create a feeling. This tree represents Rebecca’s experience of life that includes both a turbulent past and uplifting resilience for herself and her descendants. Videos by Pia Leonard

Drawing of Rebecca, charcoal on paper. I like charcoal as the medium for designing sculpture. I can make changes and it has the quality I’m looking for to show what stainless steel will look like.

Rebecca, Woman from Africa, was commissioned by the African American Heritage Trail on Martha’s Vineyard in 2024. Rebecca was taken from Africa, endured the Middle Passage, and was enslaved in Chilmark. Her life was one of resilience, and by the time of her passing, she had lived a free woman. Her descendants became people of influence, her daughter, wise woman Nancy Michael , blessed or cursed the sea captains in Edgartown, and her great grandson William Martin, was a Black whaling captain from the Vineyard.

welded stainless steel. 7’ tall, 2024

The African American Heritage Trail on Martha’s Vineyard is a nonprofit, started over twenty years ago by Elaine Weintraub and Carrie Tankard to promote African American history of the island. This is my third project for them: Wise woman Nancy Michael is at Edgartown Memorial Wharf (2022), and Emma Maitland Chambers, world champion boxer, dancer, nurse, and teacher is in the Arts District on Dukes County Ave in Oak Bluffs (2017). Working with Elaine has been a real treat for each project, talking out ideas about who these people were, and how best to represent them.