Jessica Yager Sculpture

Keene State College senior art major Jessica Yager of Bellows Falls was voted the winner of the People's Choice Award for "Gibbous Fountain," a cast-bronze statue standing in a shower of water in front of a wall of faces, displayed in "Emerging Art" at the Thorne- Sagendorph Art Gallery.

During the first weeks of the annual Keene State art students' exhibition, visitors were invited to vote for their favorite work of art. Yager won the majority of the 479 votes cast. She will receive a $100 cash award from the Friends of the Thorne along with a People's Choice Commendation.

"I had come up with the idea for the fountain during a sleepless night after my mother was first diagnosed with cancer," said Yager. "She had been listening to a guided meditation and it was almost like my fountain idea."

This was the first time Yager had worked in bronze or done a life casting. She completed the work in a one-on-one workshop with artist Mark Prentt in his studio in St. Albans, Vt.

Last summer, Yager's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and her current body of work chronicles their journey from her diagnosis through treatment. Yager's project was supported by funding from a Keene State College Undergraduate Research and Creative Project Grant.