Festival opens at both locations on Feb. 1st
Whistle Stop Depot, 6 to 9 p.m. reception
127 W. 5th Street (north of E. 6th St.)

Sculpture Resource Center, 8 to 11 p.m. reception
640 N. Stone Avenue (north of E. 6th St.)

For more info (and photos) go to www.tucsonsculpturefestival2013.blogspot.com

The festival runs from Feb. 1 to 15, daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for you to view the large selection of sculptures.

I dropped by the opening last year at the Sculpture Resource Center, and was amazed at the variety and beauty of the sculptures.

My husband and I just attended the Full Moon reception on Saturday at Metal Arts Village (3230 N. Dodge Blvd). and especially enjoyed the sculptures of Jerry Harris aka “The Village Blacksmith” who has four sculptures there, including an imaginative deer bench. He’s a forged steel & bronze sculptor at 2967 N. Alvernon Way, and his blacksmith shop is definitely worth a visit.

Next Full Moon reception at Metal Arts Village is on Monday February 25, 5 to 8 p.m. Just watch for the Full Moon and visit that collective of metal artists, a cute coffee shop (The Coffee Loft), and also a bead store. Website: http://www.metalartsvillage.com/

Check out these fantastic sculptures at this festival and later at their studios.

AZPM Az llustrated Channel 6 just previewed a terrific story about the public art on the University of AZ campus (video above). I took this tour about a year ago and was amazed at how many diverse pieces of sculptures there are on the U of A campus.

Info on how to sign up for this free guided walking tour, call 520-621-5130. The tour is on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. and begins at the UA Museum of Art, 1031 N. Olive Rd. Reservations are required, and don’t forget to wear good walking shoes as the tour takes about 2 hours. You can also get a guide for a self-guided tour.

Next tour scheduled is Wed. Dec. 19. No tour in November due to Thanksgiving break.

I think my favorite sculpture is the whimsical one entitled “25 Scientists” in front of the Chemistry Building. Take this tour and find out more about the diverse art collection of sculptures at the campus. You will be amazed.

More photos and background of some of the public art, go to http://artmuseum.arizona.edu/education/Public_Art.shtml.