M.L. SNOWDEN ART
NEWS AND EVENTS
THE BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART WELCOMES STARFIRE POLARIS TO ITS PERMANENT COLLECTION
Story by Sania Trebor, Fine Art Times
The Butler Institute of American Art has added M.L. Snowden’s Starfire Polaris to its permanent collection as a notable gift from collector, Chuck Dimick.
Mounted in the forecourt of the museum, the bronze arrests visitors’ attention with its explosive form.
Sculpture expert, Di Sulio, describes the dynamic complexity of Starfire Polaris:
"Polaris is a shining nucleus surrounded by an energy web. In beholding glazed Polaris, many hours of an annealing specialized touch has awakened an extraordinary tactile surface that encloses humanity’s completed nucleus of form. The sculpture immortalizes this formation that appears across various incarnations through human and cosmic structures. If indeed the universe is an expression of fractal mathematics as has been described by Wolfram and Mandlebrot, then Polaris forms a cutting edge portrait of fractal scale that reverberates, repeats and reveals a pantheon of related forms across the universe. Iron, copper, tin, lead, silicon, gold, silver, titanium, platinum, and other ores smelt together in the bronze amalgam of Polaris, just as interstellar cores on much larger scales, spectrographically radiate these and other elements. Within each step of Snowden’s creation of the clay to the pouring of bronze, Polaris’s burgeoning sculpted form gradually condenses sculptural materials that signal Snowden’s art as an octave universal force."
Celia Chasen, a Youngstown sculpture enthusiast and avid museum goer, enthuses over the Butler’s new bronze:
“Polaris is an exciting visual experience unlike any other. I can see and feel its positive energy. It’s an impressive and much appreciated addition to the Butler.”
M.L SNOWDEN ‘S CATACLASIS STUDY ADORNS THE LOBBY OF THE HANNON LIBRARY at LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY
Written by Larson Loya, LMU Commentaries
LMU has permanently installed M.L. Snowden’s bronze sculpture, Cataclasis Study, in the lobby of Hannon Library. As the winner of the International Rodin Competition that was hosted by 32 nations, Cataclasis Study communicates the central vision of M.L. Snowden’s landmark sculptural oeuvre, the Geological Coreium. Hannon Library’s new sculpture has been brilliantly crafted with Rodin’s tools that the artist inherited from her father, the noted sculptor, George H. Snowden. George Snowden created the Main Altar for the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. Closer to home in L.A.’s downtown Civic Center, his daughter, M.L. Snowden, created the Great Golden Angels of the Main Altar for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Cataclasis Study in Hannon Library, celebrates an array of forces that galvanize humankind and the cosmos. The bronze study scale of Cataclasis literally bristles with three elemental states of energy: the Latent, the Emerging and the Active. The sculptor in concert with contemporary geological science, increasingly views planet earth as a living organism, with its rock and soil structures following the same aging patterns as biological/human life forms. Moving counter-clockwise, Latent embodies old age, Active embraces middle age, and the Emerging elemental figure equates to youth. As a contemporary master metallurgist, M.L Snowden invented the specialized foundry wax that has enabled the complex casting of Cataclasis Study.
In addition to Catacalsis Study, LMU houses the sculptor’s Ascension of Elements Collection including Caldera, Alluvia, Aeolia and Terra. Notably on campus, M.L. Snowden created the Gersten Portrait Memorial as the focal point of the lobby of the Gersten Pavilion. A 1974 graduate of LMU, M.L. Snowden was among the first women students at Loyola Marymount. M.L. Snowden’s pictorial biography joins LMU’s Graduates Hall of Fame on display in the Charles Von der Ahe building.
Gift of Art Provides Inspiration and Beauty to Grand Reading Room at Ellis Library
By Shannon Cary Posted in Events and Exhibits
Posted on September 3, 2021
Students returning to Ellis Library’s Grand Reading Room this fall will be greeted by four new inspiring sculptures – Lunas, Lightspire, Photon and Solaris. The bronze sculptures, by contemporary master, M.L. Snowden, were given to the University Libraries by Drs. Holly Orr and Mark Haskell Monroe. Mark’s father, Haskell Monroe, served as the University of Missouri’s chancellor from 1987 to 1993.
M.L. Snowden is the sole living inheritor of select 19th century marble carving, finishing, casting and bronze patination techniques from the Paris studios of Auguste Rodin and Antonin Mercié. She sculpted alongside her father for seventeen years as an apprentice and as a professional in Snowden Studios. In 1990, she inherited a collection of 38 of the original sculpting tools from the Rodin Studios. Rodin’s tools were bequeathed to M.L. Snowden’s father by the Swiss sculptor, Robert Georges Eberhard.
M.L. Snowden has won the world’s most prestigious sculpture prize, The International Rodin Competition in Tokyo, Japan, and most recently was awarded the inaugural Presidential Order of Merit “In Recognition of Significant Contributions to the Betterment of Humanity Through Art,” presented by the Fine Art Foundation with the sculptor’s work recently added to the Presidential art collection at the White House. The sculptor maintains studios in southern California, Paris and Austria.
Learn more about the artist and her art:
M.L. Snowden Art
The M.L. Snowden Museum
THE M.L. SNOWDEN COLLECTION AT SOKA UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA AND JAPAN (08/2019)
Soka University of America and Japan is pleased announce its most recent acquisition of a new million dollar M.L. Snowden bronze collection.
The current program of Donor collection bronzes communicates M.L. Snowden’s vision for unique works that shape a complex and unified intersection of geostratic power based upon peace and harmony. Amid lush dimensionality, M.L. Snowden’s bronzes convey an immediate sense of humanitarian concord and spiritual grace.
On the societal level, the bronzes of the Geological Coreium Collection engage the cultural mission of their formational basis, namely women in STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. And yet the bronzes escape any interpretive constraints in projecting palpable grandeur and electric vitality as they communicate M.L. Snowden’s legacy as the last living heir of Rodin who sculpts with his original tools.
Slated for installation in the University’s rotunda, visitors to the collection will be able to experience a much closer view onto Snowden’s incomparable workmanship. In this oeuvre, every work is clothed from head to toe in the historic and glowing Fournier platinum patina. Embodying masterful metallurgical science, the sculptures speak of positive blessing, beneficence and peace. As Dr. Louis Zona, Curator of the Butler Institute of American Art quotes, “ M.L. Snowden’s sculpture is marvelous…the craftsmanship could not be higher.”
Among numerous highest accolades and achievements, M.L. Snowden is the global winner of the International Rodin Competition of Tokyo, Japan, hosted by 32 nations. Sponsored by Mitsubishi, Fujisankei Communications Group and other prominent Japanese patrons. The sculptor’s work resides in the permanent collection of the Hakone Open-Air Museum and the Utsukushi-ga-hara museum of Japan; the most extensive sculpture garden museums in the world.
M.L. Snowden remains the inaugural recipient of the Alex Ettl Grant awarded for “Lifetime Achievement in American Sculpture” presented by the National Sculpture Society, USA.
2019 M.L. SNOWDEN COLLECTION at The Eisenhower
MediaNewswire: The Eisenhower Medical Center has acquired a curated collection of M.L. Snowden bronzes for the benefit of humanity. The collection features selections from M.L. Snowden’s Geological Coreium including prize winning works from the International Rodin Competition in Tokyo, Japan. M.L. Snowden was the international winner of the Rodin Prize that was hosted by 32 nations. In a professional career spanning more than 45 years, the sculptor has cast more than 2,000 bronzes that currently reside in private and public institutions worldwide, including the White House.
“… we are grateful to have this important and very magnificent collection."
With the sculptor’s overall body of work valued in the multi-millions, The Eisenhower M.L. Snowden Collection is on board to become one of America’s top institutional collections that has an added benefit of supporting patient medical care through the arts. A spokesperson recently commented, “The Eisenhower collection is permanent and is projected to become an integral part of hospital services since M.L. Snowden bronzes communicate confidence, hope and upliftment through signature humanitarian forms. On behalf of the Eisenhower’s Board of Directors, services and associates – we are grateful to have this important and very magnificent collection.”
AVENT NEWS: EXPLORING THE ART OF M.L. SNOWDEN BRONZE
Interview with Dr. Susan Wilson
AVENT NEWS Di Sulio, Writer
M.L. Snowden bronzes are found in a number of permanent medical institutional collections, including Centinela Hospital Medical Center; the Norris Cancer Center at the University of Southern California; and in the lobby of the global headquarters for Genzyme, the world’s leading research institute for rare genetic diseases located between Harvard and MIT in Massachusetts. A new edition of work heads to California’s Eisenhower Medical Center mid-summer. M.L. Snowden is universally recognized as the sculptor of the Combinant Helix X and Y; a historic monumental bronze that was created to commemorate the completion of the Human Genome Project.
The 2019 western hemisphere medi-arts conference welcomed Dr. Susan Wilson MD who was on hand to explain some of the benefits that are connected with the fine arts in healthcare settings. More specifically, she discussed the bronzes of M.L. Snowden that are situated at medical centers around the country, such as the Eisenhower Medical Center in California:
“There is no question that some forms of art are nurturing and supportive to human health, healing and recovery. Clinical studies are continually revealing exciting and very real beneficial effects of the arts on healthcare outcomes. Many studies suggest that ‘the brain feels rewarded while looking at art.’ There is no doubt that for many, many people, M.L. Snowden sculptures communicate feelings of beneficence and well being. Some people report that M.L. Snowden sculpture inspires meditation; where contemplating the work is an enlightening experience.
There is no doubt that these bronzes are helpful in clinical medical environments that deal with serious, stressful and often terminal patient healthcare issues. M.L. Snowden’s bronzes seem to radiate spiritual strength, humanitarian warmth and calming grace. Highlighting these subjective qualities, I would say that Snowden’s sculptural forms generate an almost indescribable energy that speaks to some people; people who feel strongly about the art but who are not able put their feelings into words. Such subjectivity is understandable since art communicates beyond language that reaches our senses in different ways.
And, I might add, beyond one’s ability to see; beyond the visual plane. Yes, I mention this because many blind persons are among M.L. Snowden collectors; some of whom are supporters of The Lighthouse for the Blind organization; where impaired collectors are able to perceive their bronzes solely through their sense of touch. This is understandable since so many hours of hand polishing goes into creating the touchable surfaces of these sculptures. I myself find it a revelation in laying my hands on these designs; bronzes like the Nebulae or the Miriam.
As a medical professional speaking of my own experience, I’d like to suggest that I think many of us do ponder about the basic nature of this M.L. Snowden artwork. The artist is known to be deeply supportive of humanitarian causes and through the medium of sculpture, we can experience M.L. Snowden’s sympathetic world as seen through the sculptor’s vision.
“… we still don’t have a handle on why these bronzes seem so extraordinary.”
Sculptor M.L. Snowden: Photo credit: Di Sulio for Famous Faces
I will say that in trying to parse ‘the why’ of M.L. Snowden’s difference, we still don’t have a handle on why these bronzes seem so extraordinary. For some it’s almost a legend that these bronzes seem to literally move and seem quite different in pose and character even after living with them for quite some years. Maybe it’s all down to a phenomenon caused by the Fournier bronze’s shiny glazed surfaces that optically catch the light. M.L. Snowden’s vision processes light upon objects, which of course has been the means of artists throughout history, and especially in the painterly experiments of the French impressionists seen in the work of such artists as Monet.
In the here and now, it’s quite likely that an entire range of deep artistic qualities speak to people when they contemplate M.L. Snowden bronze. But the artform is rather indescribable and has more about it than a mere bronze object.
Because of patient appreciation for the virtuoso workmanship in these bronzes, dentists display M.L. Snowden in their dental offices across the country and around the globe. However, in many instances, appreciation for this work is not something particularly physical according to patient testimonies.
It is well documented that Individuals with cancer collect M.L. Snowden bronzes; bringing these pieces into their homes to live with them. Guided by healthcare professionals administering proven medical treatment protocols, there are healings. In taking a holistic approach to health, the determination of a patient to succeed in their treatment is very much supported by Snowden’s imagery in their environment. These artworks, so full of life and energy, profoundly communicate health and holistic paradigms; where a number of patients feel some level of improvement in their daily lives as a result of connecting with this art. Again, this is not surprising, going back to my beginning comments where studies show there is a real and measurable benefit to displaying certain types of art in healthcare settings. In particular, it is always rewarding to experience M.L. Snowden’s very special genius that seems clear and alive these bronzes.” AVENT NEWS DOC.
M.L.Snowden in Paris
ėditions PEINTURES CLASSIQUES
PARIS . FRANCE
Voila! Les Merveilleuses Sculptures de M L. Snowden!
The City of Lights welcomes sculptor M.L. Snowden’s latest commission from the DOM Groupo CTM.
This hot topic group is connectivity personified as it launches new sculpture from M.L. Snowden into the blue chip private market. Snowden’s latest sculpture collection speaks to the animus of the spirit within technological advances, moving into the realm of black holes, red stars, humankind and machines. In a departure from her impressive Rodin nexus, Snowden breaks new bronze barriers in achieving inventive passages for bronze flotation and magnetic design balance. Pearsonn Riggs, the noted collector from Ibiza is keeping images under wraps. Snowden’s heightened and ever climbing market for this collection is realizing 3.2 M EUR per work with select pieces on limited view at the estate, Les Arbres, until September 10, 2017.
Marie Despanche, Staff Writer, ESC Paris, France EU
ML Snowden sculpture September 11 Anniversary
Observer News, Katherine Hobbs, Correspondent
Who can ever forget the events of 9/11? The force of the attack will always be felt in profound ways as we remember our loved ones and heroes of that tragic place and time. Nowhere is that memorial to memory more aptly felt than in M.L. Snowden’s architectural and sculptural plan for the 911 mausoleum proposed by the City of New York to stand within the World Trade Center at Ground Zero. For the first time since 911, M.L. Snowden is releasing views of the first commissioned conceptualized plan known as the “Memorial Prism”; a plan that remains viable under 911 Families of the Victims development.
VIP L. A. Cathedral Tour 2015
The Honorable Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Sada Consul General of Mexico Los Angeles and M.L. Snowden (far right)
During November, M.L. Snowden hosted a private VIP tour of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for the Honorable Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Sada, Consul General of Mexico Los Angeles and guests. On the itinerary were Snowden’s Los Angeles Angel Frieze in the Visitors Center and a close-up viewing of the Golden Angels of the 8 ton Main Altar. Snowden’s sculpture re-interprets the traditional Spanish golden altar retablo backdrop, bringing a lustrous heavenly host directly onto the Altar table. Snowden’s Angels are considered to be the most extensive ecclesiastical gold installation in the modern era.
During the tour, Snowden explained the Cathedral overlooks the El Camino Real. Saint Junipero Serra followed the route up from Baja California Sur, Mexico, in building the early California Missions. Recently canonized by Pope Francis, Saint Serra’s Holy Relics are guarded by Snowden’s Angels at the Altar. In a commission first envisioned by Alta Governor Pio Pico in 1832, M.L. Snowden’s sculptures are the first group of angels in the history of the city of Los Angeles to be installed in a permanent setting. (ARs Press)
ML SNOWDEN: THE SNOWDEN INSTITUTE AT CMA GALA
The 2015 Holiday Gala Season kicked off with a spectacular M.L. Snowden solo show hosted by The Snowden Institute and the California Medical Association in support of CMA Foundation President’s Gala for charitable programs. More than 500 guests and doctors came together to admire a sizeable array of Snowden’s glowing bronzes including Orion and Omega.
On the charitable front, Snowden’s Cathedral Angel signed posters were donated for auction achieving record closing bids. As Millie Mueller, Executive Director of the Snowden Institute commented, “We’re pleased to donate these exquisite posters that were approved by His Holiness Pope John Paul II. The Snowden Institute is proud to support CMA outreach for the benefit of needy health programs and communities.” Among collector attendees were Snowden’s patron philanthropists, who along with the late Roy Disney (1930-2009), had underwritten Snowden’s Glendale Public Memorial and its civic charitable programs, including the Widows and Orphans Fund.
500 guests (above far left) attend the M.L. Snowden CMA Bronze Showcase as Millie Mueller Executive Director of the Snowden Institute, (center right) tours Archangel Michael with a guest. Attendees gather to admire the fine details of Omega (right)
M.L. Snowden (right) opens her latest Cathedral book showcasing her bronze Archangel Ariel (right)
September 12, 2015
ML SNOWDEN GALA VIP EXHIBITION
Pasadena, CA
More than 150 M.L. Snowden bronze collectors, museum curators and members of the press gathered in Southern California for an exciting VIP evening reception hosted by Friends of The Snowden Institute. The event showcased M.L. Snowden’s latest lustrous achievements alongside a selection of established editions and historic works.
Creating a crescendo for the evening, Executive Director of The Snowden Institute, Millie Mueller, unveiled George H. Snowden’s Gaia. Exuding warm brilliance, Gaia was created by Snowden’s father on winning the important art prize of his time, the American Prix de Rome of 1927.
Also in the spotlight was M.L. Snowden’s Rodin tool number 9; a tool she inherited from her father that symbolizes her legacy as the last living sculptor directly connected to Rodin’s Paris atelier.
The event gave enthusiasts who flew in from New York, Europe and South America, an opportunity to commune with exciting bronzes together with viewing latest publications on M.L. Snowden’s art. Books on hand for the evening included a new and comprehensive hard bound Catalogue Raisonne’ curated by Rodin scholar, Dr. Marie Busco.
D. Chandra Staff Writer//Press
Norris Center at the University of Southern California
2015 Anniversary of M.L. Snowden's Genesis
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NORRIS COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER PROUDLY ANNOUNCES THE PERMANENT DISPLAY OF M.L. SNOWDEN’S BRONZE “GENESIS” IN THE LOBBY OF THE NOHL CENTER FOR BLOOD DISEASES, MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF SEMIRAMIS GRACE SHAMMAS.
“GENESIS shines among the stars of M.L. SNOWDEN’S internationally recognized bronzes that have been sculpted with Rodin’s tools. This is a bronze that pulses with humanitarian energy and vision. We want to extend our special thanks in remembering Semiramis Grace Shammas for bringing this deeply important sculpture into our midst.”
January 14-18 2015
Art world
Myra Covic reviews: SNOWDEN At L A ART SHOW
The L A Art Show revved up its performance on January 14-18, solidifying its position as the primo fine art destination platform. Reaching global status, more than 120 international exhibitors laid out fine art eye candy that attracted more than 60,000 visitors, some of them veteran collectors returning to celebrate LA Art’s 20th milestone anniversary. Taking a main stage at the 200,000 square foot Los Angeles Convention Center was M.L. Snowden’s spectacular bronzes that are in some of the finest collections worldwide.
From Warhol to Dali to American contemporary luminaries, Snowden was a leader among the stand-out offerings that studded the show floor. Across from Rau, a fine art dealer from New Orleans, M.L. Snowden’s bronzes stopped floor traffic creating a crush around the sculptor’s Stabilized Geode, Helix Y, along with other pieces.
Known for bronzes that zoom and elevate with breathtaking agile strength, Snowden’s Geode was particularly striking. The bronze on display was lushly embedded with large vivid purple amethysts that came across as completely touchable. Like a living jewel, the work sparkled under show lights, leaving onlookers breathless.
Snowden wafted through the crowd toward the display with a private collector from Zurich, an owner of The Golden Spiral. Moving hands along the Geode’s carpet of South American amethysts, the colorful patina of the work resonated with collectors who vied for a closer look.
Cellphone selfies and other hot shots were working overtime around Snowden’s Helix Y. The sculptor’s Helix project is a stupendous floating arc of candid bronze that was crafted during the final mapping stages of the Human Genome. Snowden’s Helix project is definitely on the roster of important collections since it was acquired for the international headquarters of Genzyme, the world’s leading research institute for genetic disorders that sits between Harvard and MIT.
Visitor’s hands touched and massaged Helix Y’s small one inch mortise weld point that anchors more than a quarter ton of bronze. Snowden was in fine form, describing how the work came together on a tornado of action packed sculpting. Crafting the design severely tested the limits of her Rodin floating armature; a secret system she inherited that permits actionable changes to be made to a design as it develops in wet clay. As the last closest living link to Rodin and a student of Salvador Dali, Snowden wound up signing autographs in a warm display, promising to break new ground on her return next year.
November 2, 2014
SCULPTURES OF RODIN PROTÉGÉ BROUGHT TO THE CITY
Shanghai Daily
The Peninsula Shanghai is hosting an exhibition of bronze sculptures and paintings by artists from North America. A major highlight will be the bronze sculptures by M.L. Snowden, a protege of French master sculptor Auguste Rodin. Snowden's style and platinum toned patina give her sculptures a unique and indefinable energy.
10 am-6 pm,Oct 25-Nov 9. The Peninsula Shanghai, 32 on the Bund, 32 Zhongshan Dongyilu (East OneRoad), Shanghai. 021-2327-2888
Masterful Sculptures and Artworks
Striking North American sculptural works were on show at The Peninsula Shanghai in late October and early November, as the hotel hosted a fine art exhibition. The two-week show at The Rosamonde Aviation Lounge was curated by Guy Simard and Eve-Marie Bilodeau, proprietors of Galerie Simard Bilodeau in California and Montreal, and presented bronze sculptures by the acclaimed North American artist.
The exhibition gave Shanghai’s art enthusiasts and collectors a rare opportunity to view a part of Galerie Simard Bilodeau’s innovative collection of sculptures, sculptural installations and paintings – and reinforced the reputation of The Peninsula Shanghai and the surrounding Waitanyuan District as a unique destination for heritage, arts and culture in China’s vibrant east coast metropolis.
Among the fine artworks on display were bronze sculptures by M.L. Snowden, a protégé of Auguste Rodin, the most prominent sculptor of early 20th century Europe and best known for his iconic sculpture The Thinker. M.L. Snowden’s style of platinum-toned patina derived from the Fournier Foundry in Paris during Rodin’s lifetime gives her sculptures an indefinable energy.
"Sea Creates"
"Helix Y"
Sculptures created by M.L. Snowden, a protégé of French master sculptor Auguste Rodin, are on display in Shanghai.
Guy Simard and Eve-Marie Bilodeau, who own Galerie Simard Bilodeau, one of the top art galleries in California, brought the works to the Peninsula Shanghai. The exhibition runs through November 9. It includes several working tools once used by Rodin and Snowden, one of the most renowned sculptors in North America.
The couple keep a fully occupied schedule as they shuttle between their galleries in Montreal and California. As successful art consultants and established collectors, they have a strong view of global art market trends, including those in China. Bilodeau answered a few questions in a recent interview with Shanghai Daily.
Q: Can you use three adjectives to describe the sculptures created by M.L. Snowden? Do you remember your first response when you saw her works?
The work of Snowden can be described as a magnificent expression of nature's powerful energy: breathtaking, impressive and monumental. The first time I had this profound connection with Snowden's work is when I saw her sculpture called "Spiral Helix Y." It felt like everything stopped around me: time, sound, people. This is a very precious moment, when you fall in love with an artwork and it becomes like a magnet for your soul.
October 25, 2014
The businessman Ricardo Brennand increases the fantastic collection of his Institute in Brazil. Recently acquired eight new pieces to the Brennand Institute. Emphasis on an original sculpture – uma escultura –Mar Cria SEA CREATES– em bronze, da americana ML Snowden. The Sea Creates sculpture - bronze, the American ML Snowden. Elas já estão em exposição na sede do Instituto e fazendo sucesso. They are already on display at the headquarters of the Institute and making success.
M.L. SNOWDEN SCULPTURE SYMPOSIUM AT BRAZIL'S PREMIERE MUSEUM
'Ask Ask' discusses the work of ML Snowden in IRB (Instituto Ricardo Brennand)
The project Ask Ask, the Ricardo Brennand Institute (IRB), discusses the issue on Saturday, October 25, 2014, the work of ML Snowden, American sculptor who uses the techniques of famous sculptor Auguste Rodiin. The work selected is Creates Sea and the event is held under the curatorship of Philip Aca.
A partir das 15h, a temática Os detalhes nos levam além é discutida pelo curador Filipe Aca. From 15h, the theme "The Details Take Us Beyond" is discussed by curator Philip Aca. In this edition of Ask Ask, visitors can learn about the work of Snowden, which explores the forces of nature and humanity in bronze.
M.L. Snowden's Art Featured at the Vatican in Rome
By Pamela Hale-Burns Staff Writer Press Telegram
When the first Native American saint in history is canonized Sunday in Rome, M.L. Snowden's artwork will be on display for the historic event.
Kateri Tekakwitha was an Algonquin Mohawk who endured many trials after smallpox disfigured her face, but who never lost her faith and performed works of kindness and service to others in need.
Snowden's contribution is a drawing of her sculpture of an angel that is one of several on the altar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. Her angels guard the church's holy reliquary, which contains the remains of several saints, including St. Patrick, St. Francis of Assisi and the new St. Kateri.
"I'm really pleased. This is one of the most personal types of artwork that I've been involved with and created, because it is so deeply inspirational to so many," Snowden said. "It's associated with miracles that have touched lives and changed fates in the world, so this is a deeply moving experience to not only create the angel, but to be associated with such a wonderful divine presence."
In 2000, Snowden was commissioned to be the sculptor for the main altar at the Los Angeles cathedral, and it was for that effort that her artwork was selected for Rome.
"It's very wonderful to be a part of it," she said. "It's a great blessing, but at a certain point the art doesn't belong to me."
Snowden's angel for St. Tekakwitha is among the first group of angels designed for a permanent setting in the history of Los Angeles.
Snowden has studios in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Paris and Austria. Her work has been shown all around the world, including the Butler Institute of American Art in Ohio, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the White House, and the Queen's Collection at Buckingham Palace.
Snowden's father, who was also a sculptor, contributed to the Shrine of Immaculate Conception in the nation's capital.
"I inherited my art from my father," she said.