A family of River Otters is enjoying its favorite winter sport, hurling their sleek bodies down a slippery snow slide.  The parents are teaching the youngster; it's the wide-eyed pup's first try.  Dad is in full flight midway down the slope; Mom has already flipped onto her back, laughing, at the bottom.

When I lived in Alaska, I loved watching these lithe animals at play.  In my stylized version, I wanted to show Mom and Dad's sheer joy and the pup's excited but fearful anticipation.

The otters are patinaed in a highly polished sienna bronze, while the cantilevered slide and its base are patinaed to resemble snow-covered rock.

The Learning Curve won Viewer's Choice in the North Kitsap Art Show in Port Gamble, Washington, July 2000.

Bronze Sculpture on Black Granite
and Hardwood Base

17" h x 24" w x 10" d

Limited Edition of 35

THE LEARNING CURVE