Student artwork missing
Artist pleads for its return
RoseMary Johnson
Issue date: 11/25/08 Section: News
A miniature saddle from an exhibit piece by Ashley Parkes went missing two weeks ago, while it was being stored on the sculpture loading dock.
Parkes is a sophomore sculpture major who is known on campus for her leatherworking skills. She had spent three weeks crafting the miniature saddle by hand, and carving it with floral designs in black, white and silver. She then mounted it on a large tree branch planted in a concrete-filled pot. Ashley named the piece "Saddle Tree" and displayed it for several weeks in the Art Gallery and then for a few days in the Sculpture Building. Afterwards, she left the bulky exhibit on the sculpture loading dock for lack of a better place to store it. She planned on taking it home over Thanksgiving break. Ashley declared that she has stored things there before, both this semester and last semester. "People usually leave stuff there all the time with no problem," she said. "I've never heard of any trouble before now."
Unfortunately, the saddle went missing about two weeks ago. "I remember seeing it on Monday or Tuesday," she said. "But the next day it was gone." She says that someone had "meticulously" removed the saddle from the tree branch. "I had plaited leather lace from the saddle halfway down the branch to anchor it there, and the lace was gone too, but the tree branch was still there," Ashley said. "The saddle was plaited onto the branch. It would not have been difficult to undo it, but it would have required some thought." Although Ashley says she "[hates] to jump to the conclusion that it was stolen," she can't see any other explanation unless someone thought it was "up for grabs."
Most people who have heard about the missing saddle are shocked. Lori Wilson, a sophomore English major, declared she couldn't bear to think that someone had stolen the saddle. "A lot of metal scraps have been lying around the area since before last year, just rusting and decomposing," Lori said, and suggested that someone might have taken the saddle thinking that anything in the surrounding area was unwanted. "And hopefully when they see the article in the newspaper they will realize that the saddle is wanted and return it."
When asked about whether she thought she would get her saddle back, Ashley said that she "highly doubts it," but added that "it'd be really nice." Ashley feels worse about losing all the time and effort she put into making the saddle, and asks anyone who might know the whereabouts of her saddle to notify her by phone: (615) 390-8822, or email: aparkes@udallas.edu.
Parkes is a sophomore sculpture major who is known on campus for her leatherworking skills. She had spent three weeks crafting the miniature saddle by hand, and carving it with floral designs in black, white and silver. She then mounted it on a large tree branch planted in a concrete-filled pot. Ashley named the piece "Saddle Tree" and displayed it for several weeks in the Art Gallery and then for a few days in the Sculpture Building. Afterwards, she left the bulky exhibit on the sculpture loading dock for lack of a better place to store it. She planned on taking it home over Thanksgiving break. Ashley declared that she has stored things there before, both this semester and last semester. "People usually leave stuff there all the time with no problem," she said. "I've never heard of any trouble before now."
Unfortunately, the saddle went missing about two weeks ago. "I remember seeing it on Monday or Tuesday," she said. "But the next day it was gone." She says that someone had "meticulously" removed the saddle from the tree branch. "I had plaited leather lace from the saddle halfway down the branch to anchor it there, and the lace was gone too, but the tree branch was still there," Ashley said. "The saddle was plaited onto the branch. It would not have been difficult to undo it, but it would have required some thought." Although Ashley says she "[hates] to jump to the conclusion that it was stolen," she can't see any other explanation unless someone thought it was "up for grabs."
Most people who have heard about the missing saddle are shocked. Lori Wilson, a sophomore English major, declared she couldn't bear to think that someone had stolen the saddle. "A lot of metal scraps have been lying around the area since before last year, just rusting and decomposing," Lori said, and suggested that someone might have taken the saddle thinking that anything in the surrounding area was unwanted. "And hopefully when they see the article in the newspaper they will realize that the saddle is wanted and return it."
When asked about whether she thought she would get her saddle back, Ashley said that she "highly doubts it," but added that "it'd be really nice." Ashley feels worse about losing all the time and effort she put into making the saddle, and asks anyone who might know the whereabouts of her saddle to notify her by phone: (615) 390-8822, or email: aparkes@udallas.edu.
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