The Valkyrie, the warrior angel of Norse Mythology, delivered the bravest and strongest of the fallen soldiers, those who distinguished themselves in battle, to stand before Odin, the father of the gods, and Tiw, the god of war, for judgment. If found worthy, the champions entered into the Halls of Valhalla to sing the songs of their deeds and celebrate with their fathers until the end of time. This statue depicts an Impossible Love. The story of the angel and the mermaid are truly opposed to each other. The angel, a heavenly creature bringing light, life and love free of sin or temptation. The mermaid, a denizen of the deep seducing sailors toward perilous rocks hidden beneath the waves or upon a sinking abyss that can swallow a ship hole. In this sculpture the artist blends these two opposing creatures into an atypical embrace. The Poppy Mask combines the beautiful history of the Venetian Mask makers and the inventiveness and ingenuity of the American artisan. This mask replicates one of the great masks constructed out of paper mache and wire for the Mardi Gras parades of the early 1930’s. Discovered in the ruin of a toppled warehouse and reconstructed using state of the art reproduction techniques, this wall hanging lives as a testimonial to one of New Orleans greatest traditions and Italy’s greatest art forms. Few ancient gods or goddesses match in following or in recognition the stature of Artemis. A lunar deity representing the hunt, forests, fertility and childbirth Diana, as the Romans knew her, held sacred the deer and the cypress and was fabled to aid in childbirth becoming a patron of midwives. Twin sister to Apollo and daughter of Zeus her story spanned the life of the Greek City States, endured the Roman transformation of the gods and has been celebrated by artisans from the classical period through the renaissance and into nouveau and modern artworks. The great god of the sea and patron of those who brave its depths, Neptune’s name carries to this day on the breath of sailors in title and song. The son of the titan Chronos, and brother to Zeus and Hades, Posiedon was always depicted with the torso of a man and the tail of a great fish but when the god made the transformation into the Roman pantheon and was renamed, the depictions in literature, made him all human. His great gift to humanity was the horse for which the name Neptune Equestor was made. We call them dragon or drake but to the Norse they were the Wyvern. Fire serpents that devour villages and sink ships both for the plunder and the sport. Among the greatest dangers for travelers over land and sea, songs and stories of the ancient world warn of the Wyvern and how they delight in the torments they rain down. This statue not only catches the act but the satisfaction the creature enjoys while pushing down the felled ship.