Lift and Carry, Chelsy Walker

Artist: Chelsy Walker

Title: Lift and Carry

Medium: Aluminum, patina, gold leaf, waxed and leather thread, rocks, walnut

Price: $3,750

Dimensions:  52 x 36 x 22 inches

Artist Bio: Chelsy has a thing for making things. She’s been creating art objects since she could hold a mud pie, and for the last 20 years her career has focused on advancing the arts through sculpture, education, and civil service.  Her large outdoor sculptures can be found in Park City, UT; Overland Park, KS; and Desoto, KS. Walker has received several grants from the Office of Research and Creative Activities, as well as obtaining her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Sculpture from Brigham Young University. Currently she creates sculpture using aluminum, bronze, steel, and mixed media that involves nature and centers on the family—past, present, and future. Chelsy can’t seem to get away from oil painting, either, and has a work on permanent display in Olathe City Hall. She enjoys living with her husband, kids, and huge dogs in the KC Metro area. Chelsy finds great joy volunteering in her community and church and believes her best works of art are her son and daughter. She has served as Chair of the Olathe Public Art Committee since 2019 and has been a member since 2017. Chelsy loves how art is a way of connecting, unifying, and celebrating the human family.

Artist Statement: We carry the hopes of our children and the dreams of our ancestors. In our baggage hides the grisly, mascara-stained tissues of failure and trauma. Tools for survival are interwoven amongst the trappings of our day, waiting for a stray piece of gum to stick to them. 

We clutch the thrill of accomplishment. We are tied to commitments, relationships, and the desire to measure up. We pack our past, and it makes bruises on our shoulders. 

Sometimes, we see someone whose baggage is so heavy they cannot carry on; so, we unpack theirs, and squeeze more into our bag… and realize… it weighs less. 

Lift.

For me, I am lifted by both weight and wings.