Publication: NewsPress Weekender, Firday, June 1, 1984

Blue is the color of the Oklahoma sky.

Rust is the color of the Oklahoma soil.

“Blue and Rust,” simultaneously rooted to the land and pointed toward the sky, is expressive of both.

The brand new stainless steel and porcelain sculpture in front of the Bartlett Center for the Studio Arts also suggests other Oklahoma images, according to the woman who built it, Johanna Jordan, of Laguna Beach, California.

“Blue and Rust” resembles both an arrowhead and an oil well in its triangular design, Jordan pointed out. Its conical appearance also suggests a teepee.

“I didn’t really intend it to be so, but the piece really took on a lot of subconscious ideas indigenous to Oklahoma,” Jordan said.

The idea for the sculpture germinated last year when Jordan visited Stillwater to observe the site and determine architectural requirements, size, and color of the piece.

“I returned to California and began working only the absorbed observation,” Jordan said.

From that absorbed observation, she created a model of the sculpture, which she sent to Oklahoma State University art department for approval.

After a special department committee approved the design – with minor modifications – she began work in earnest, and six months later finished the piece.

“We were hoping to have the piece completed in time for the formal dedication of the Bartlett Center in March, but we ran into a few problem,” Jordan said.

The biggest occurred when the 5 x 25 foot stainless steel she ordered were delivered in 4 x 8 foot sheets.

“We had to scrounge the L.A. area for a while to come up with the right materials for that,” Jordan said. “Little things like that can build up and cause delays.”

Even so, the six months taken to complete and mount the sculpture was not a long time, considering the magnitude of the project.

“A large fabricated piece such as this often takes one or two years to complete,” she explained.

“Blue and Rust,” commissioned along with the renovation of Gardiner Hall and funded privately by Pete Bartlett, was lowered into place last Friday.