Nancy Metz White (1934–2018) was a

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

artist with large-scale outdoor public sculptures installed in two parks in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Wisconsin. White welded and sometimes brightly painted steel and forge flashings reclaimed from Milwaukee

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

. She described herself as a practitioner of urban archeology.

Sculptures

Tree of Life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...

'', which is 2½ stories high, was erected in Mitchell Boulevard Park in 2002. '' Magic Grove'', a grouping of three tree forms, was installed in Enderis Playfield in 2006. Conceived as a community gathering place, ''Magic Grove'' includes benches designed by the artist and a commemorative brick walkway. In both ''Tree of Life'' and ''Magic Grove'', bird forms perch amid the tree branches, adding a fanciful touch. A smaller welded outdoor sculpture, ''Helping Hands'', whimsically constructed from hand die forms recycled from a glove factory, is on permanent display at the Mead Public Library in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In 2011, ''Fantasy Garden'', a grouping of five larger than life painted steel flowers also made from forge flashings, was installed on the plaza of the retirement community, Saint John’s On The Lake, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. White also made a series of sculptures out of galvanized and stainless steel furnace pipe and flexible air-conditioning ducting.

Biography

Born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, in 1934, White graduated from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

with a bachelor's degree in art education and also did graduate study there. She served as creative arts coordinator at Urban Day School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She began to weld at the age of 45. White was also a printmaker and pastel artist. Her sense of color remained intact even in the face of dementia. She was married to Joseph Charles White who died in 2009. Their twin daughters are Michele and Jacqueline. Her papers are housed at the Milwaukee County Historical Society. She died December 10, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Nancy Metz 1934 births University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education alumni Artists from Milwaukee 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American sculptors 20th-century American women sculptors 21st-century American women sculptors Sculptors from Wisconsin 2018 deaths American women pastel artists American pastel artists

Sculptures

Biography

See also

References