'Gaia' to stay at Riverstone home another year
The Coeur d'Alene Arts Commission on Tuesday approved $1,000 for artist Dale Young to keep "Gaia" at her home at Atlas Park.
BILL BULEY/Press
Gaia will be staying at her Atlas Park home for another year.
"It's perfect where it sits, we all love it," said Mary Lee Ryba, chair of the Coeur d'Alene Arts Commission.
The commission Tuesday approved paying artist Dale Young $1,000 to keep the statue where it stands through 2025. It is part of ArtCurrents, a public art placement program in which the city basically leases pieces of art for use in downtown Coeur d'Alene and the Riverstone area.
With a $40,000 price tag, the carved stone sculpture was made with columnar basalt from Eastern Washington. It is called "Gaia" or "Mother Earth."
"Gaia's pregnant belly shows the oceans and continents," according to a city description of the art.
In her six years at Atlas Park, Gaia was damaged once, a few years ago, when someone vandalized the statue.
"It kind of broke our hearts," Ryba said.
Young quickly repaired the damage, and she has been untouched since, only viewed by many walking past on the paved path.
"He did make her beautiful again," Ryba said.