Glide
2003 17’ x 24 x 4 bronze
Glide was inspired by the ferry boats operating over a hundred years ago along the portion of the Arkansas River bordering New Block Park.
The first of six castings of Glide was commissioned by the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma for New Block Park on the banks of the Arkansas River.
Historical records reflect three ferry boats operating in the area in the late 1800’s; the Lochapoka crossing, Sam Ackley’s ferry and the Corneal Crossing which operated nearby. The boats ferried people, horses, wagons, and buggies until a toll bridge was built in 1904. The then unregulated and sometimes dry Arkansas River created a tenuous environment in which to run a ferry boat operation. “Glide” is distilled from and symbolic of the essence of those historic ferry endeavors.