The Unexpected at 'The Early Years' Opening

The night was magical and the weather perfect for a grand evening with our friends and art enthusiasts at the Harbor History Museum. Folks turned out in numbers to stand in front of Mardie Rees’ sculptures themed on the ‘Early Years’ of our lives. We enjoyed a glass of wine and talked until sundown of the joys, trials, and tribulations of parenting.

We also listened intently as Mardie spoke of her inspiration, and of her ever-present attempts to balance her work and life as a mother. As we listened, something happened we weren’t expecting. Here’s what she said:

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"This show, ‘The Early Years’, is personal… but it’s not just personal to me. Like any showing of art – it’s personal to you. You personally have experiences and memories that can stir up a dose of nostalgia. Here now you have a chance to stand in front of an object of art and hold on to one of those memories. But before you do that I am going to give you a lens. So everyone close your eyes for a moment..."

"...Picture yourself drifting back in time. Images of your recent past go floating by as you turn back the pages of your life that led to this very spot. You pass through pages of happiness that have been recalled so much they are dog-eared. You pass through pages of sorrows - pages that contain pain but are framed with gratitude that you survived and are wiser for it. The pages speed up as you realize just how many pages that you have in this book and how many of them you have forgotten about. Now the pages begin to slow. They are turning one at a time, revealing images of what it was like in your childhood. Tree-forts and pirate ships, bathing suits and ice cream cones, tea parties and dress-up clothes. You remember the nervousness of your first sleepover and the thrill of running down that grassy hill at breakneck speed. These pages are yours to keep, and the more that you stir these memories and let them rest on your heart for a moment or two, the more at peace you’ll feel about life in the here and now."

I don't know about you, but for me hearing those words was like drinking a cool glass of water. For a moment I was transported to a time where I didn't have a smartphone in my pocket, I had a cool-looking shell that I plucked off the beach; a time where I wasn't paying bills - I was paying attention to the little girl that lived across the street. As I get older, I find that I could use more moments like those in my life, and I bet you a drippy ice cream cone that you agree.

The Colonel John W. Thomason, Jr. Award

Triangle, VA – Our military is not generally seen as being a proponent of the arts, but the 35 year-old Marine Corps Heritage Foundation recognizes it as a powerful way to preserve and promote Marine Corps history. This year, the foundation hosted over 400 ranking officials and special guests at its annual awards recognizing artworks that embody this goal. One of the highlights of the night was the presentation of the Colonel John W. Thomason, Jr. Award to professional artist Mardie Rees for her sculpture 'Soul of the Forward and Faithful.' The award is given each year to an individual artist for a distinguished work depicting some aspect of Marine Corps life. The nod also marks the third award Rees’ Marine sculpture has garnered.

"It is such an honor to be recognized for something that I created," says Rees. "The truth is that this artwork is for the Marines. It's a way of remembering the sacrifices of our fathers and grandfathers who fought in World War II."

The sculpture honors the legacy of America’s first elite fighting force and was commissioned by the U.S. Marine Raider Foundation. Rees spent two years depicting a Browning Automatic Rifleman, a War Dog Handler with his German Shepherd and a Navajo Code Talker. Including its terrain and jungle backdrop, the bronze artwork measures about 4 feet by 3 feet. After completion, it was exhibited to crowds at the Tacoma Art Museum, then the San Diego Air and Space Museum in California. 

In December 2014, the sculpture was ceremoniously entrusted for life to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va. However, recent expansion plans saw the sculpture move to a perhaps more fitting location: the Pentagon. It now resides inside the office of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert Neller. After her award presentation, Rees had a chance to meet the man who took personal interest in her artwork.

"It was fulfilling to share with the General details about my work,” says Rees."I told him that two of the models that posed were Marine veterans, both having served two tours in Iraq, and the Code Talker model was full-blooded Navajo.”

Rees reflects now on the impact that the sculpture has had on her new friends in the Marine Corps, and looks forward to the next opportunity.

“Figure sculpture truly is a universal language,” she says. “When we experience it, we can identify with it. It touches our souls.”

-Photo credit Staff Sgt Gabriela Garcia

Soul of the Forward & Faithful at the Pentagon

While in Washington D.C. in April, I had the opportunity to meet with Director of the National Museum of the Marine Corps Lin Ezell and learn that my bronze sculpture had been moved out of the museum. 'Soul of the Forward and Faithful,' a bronze sculpture that embodies the legacy of the WWII U.S. Marine Raiders was entrusted to the collection by the U.S. Marine Raider Foundation/Association in November of 2014. The museum has been undergoing a large expansion and spent several months this year closed to the public. Rather than have the sculpture go into storage, director Ezell arranged for the sculpture to be moved to a prominent location in General Robert Neller's office (USMC Headquarters) at the Pentagon. This allows many prominent officials to be inspired by the Raider Legacy through art. 

My five-week-old baby, Desiree, traveled with me to Washington DC where I received the Colonel John W. Thomason Jr. Award from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation on April twenty-third, 2016. She traveled well and got to meet director Lin Ezell, and see the sculptures previous home in the atrium of the Leatherneck Gallery.