Original SculpTour Piece Finds Permanent Home in Suwanee

Updated July 17

Art is a second career for Eluisa Altman, but it now is bringing her recognition in several areas across the U.S.

One of her sculptures, "Mother & Child," has returned to Suwanee to become a part of the city's permanent art collection. It was a People's Choice voting winner from the original SculpTour collection, and it was mounted in front of City Hall on Monday.

-- Have you seen SculpTour 2012 pieces? Tell us in the comments below.

Altman, who was on hand for the permanent installation, noted that she came to the U.S. from Brazil in 1968. Later, Altman became a corporate banker, but left that profession amid cutbacks in 1996. That's when she got into art as a career.

She became aware of SculpTour when she "answered a call for artists," and sent a resume. The original "Mother & Child" sculpture was in mahogany and styrofoam. The new model has been recast in bronze with a stainless steel plate at the bottom.

Altman estimates that her piece was chosen as a fan favorite because the voters "saw what I see -- as the child slips away, the mother stretches her arms to hold onto the child."

Now, it's just one of her exhibits. She also has pieces showing at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and in exhibits in New Jersey, Missouri, and South Dakota.

Will she enter SculpTour again? "Oh yes," Altman said. "This is what artists do."

SculpTour and other art efforts are a part of Suwanee's economic development strategy, and the SculpTour effort is funded entirely through private donations. Mayor Jimmy Burnette noted that when corporations think of setting up offices in a city, "They always ask about art."

"Every piece (of art that is added to the city's collection) makes it that much better."

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