Kathleen's three-dimensional visual statement concerning global warming, Bear Hug, is shown above. This plaster and wood model for a large scale fountain combines a figurative element of a polar bear hugging the earth, much like a mother does her pregnant belly, with a grid pattern and repeated circular bases. The small circle symbolically represents the sun while the large circle and grid pattern represents man-made civilization on earth. In the large scale fountain the small circle would slowly rotate as water seeps out from beneath the bear cascading down into a shallow pool. The large circle with the grid pattern would be submerged under water but clearly seen from above. Underwater red lighting would be installed to illuminate it at night and give it an hautingly beautiful glow.
This sculpture lead Kathleen to create a pair of graphite drawings titled Bear Hug 1 & 2, which also used a circular format. She used chopped images of the two sides of the sculpture giving us two different views of the same image or idea that work together. Kathleen used these drawings as the basis for the pair of silkscreen prints, shown above. The main difference between the drawings and these prints is the addition of a vibrant red to the prints. The red dots and the red around the eyes is used to enhance the feeling of the warmth of the sun and the need to stop the destruction humankind is doing to the environment.
Kathleen also sculpted a complementary piece to go along with her Bear Hug sculpture titled Wave. In this sculpture, a small boat is held high by a massive wave with seemingly noone at the oars. If we look inside the boat, a symbolic couple is lying there looking upward as if asking for help or guidance. This sculpture is envisioned as a set of four pieces to be placed in the four directions north, south east and west in relation to the fountain to symbolize humankind's oneness with nature and the universal effects of global warming on earth. One view of the plaster model of Wave is shown below.
While Global Warming might not be the happiest thought, it is our reality. As changes happen to our world, we can either deny humankind's negative impact or accept what we have done and do what we can to fix it.