Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara, born 1962), Mud Woman Rolls On, 2011. Unfired and fired clay and plant fiber; 120 ¼ x 151 ½ x 81 5/8 in. Dedicated to Nancy Blomberg in gratitude for her service to the Denver Art Museum, 2010.570. © Roxanne Swentzell

Artist Roxanne Swentzell says about this sculpture: " When asked to create a piece for the Denver Art Museum, I wanted the viewer to start with a perspective of Earth and Mother. Having a Mother made of clay is an appropriate beginning to our Native world. We are all from this Mother, all from this Earth: made of her and will return to her. The Mother holds the largest child, who’s holding the next child, who’s holding the next and so on. I love the idea that we all come from the Earth, generation after generation; an endless family of life . . . We are the Mothers of the next generation and the daughters of the last. Male or female, in the Pueblo world, we are “Mothers” (nurturers) of the generations to come . . . In a world that supports life it’s our work now, as it was for our parents and ancestors before us, and it will become the work of our children. The Mother figure is very large; the children are more human size. From this, perspective viewers see their place in creation more clearly. They view themselves in the context of generations from the beginning of time into the future, all connected. To hurt one part of the chain of life is to disrupt the flow that nurtures the generations to come. I believe this story is certainly one that needs telling at this time."