The Story Behind the Bronze: Elliot’s Circle at The Galloway School in Atlanta, GA

From bas-reliefs to life-size statues, each piece Cherrylion Studios sculpts has a backstory transcribed in bronze. We particularly enjoy the challenge of creating interactive sculptures, pieces that invite their audience to take part in the sculpture’s narrative.

Elliot’s Circle, a sculpture commissioned for the Galloway School in Atlanta, GA, is one of these pieces created to inspire participation as much as observation. As a new class of students gets ready to graduate from the prestigious Atlanta school, we wanted to revisit the bronze sculpture we had the honor of creating over ten years ago.

A Bronze Sculpture Born from Wise Words

As is often the case, Cherrylion Studios’ head sculptor, Martin Dawe, was inspired by a quote when beginning work on Elliot’s Circle. The school’s founder, Elliot Galloway once said, “All you need for a school is a log, a teacher, and a student.”

Dawe set out to capture this distilled reverence for education in his bronze sculpture. The piece features a circle of nine concrete logs, each with two bronze side plates that have the names of each student to graduate from the school engraved on them. This element includes each student in the fabric of the sculpture, allowing the piece to grow with each passing year.

Two Bronze Figures Sharing an Education in Atlanta, GA

On one of these commemorative logs sits a bronze sculpture of Elliot Galloway, a book in one hand, coffee mug in the other. The prolific educator is reading to a gender-neutral child who is sitting across the circle on another log, seemingly captivated by the dialogue they’re sharing.

This scene set in bronze is meant to capture the school’s approach toward education as an interaction between students and teachers meant to better the minds of both parties. If the sculpture featured a teacher lecturing a room full of desk-bound students, it would convey an entirely different message. Cherrylion Studios set out to capture the pure educational principles of the Galloway School with an interactive sculpture.

A Tradition Emerges from a Sculpture

Every student to graduate the Galloway School since 2009 is a living, breathing part of the sculpture. Not only are their names engraved in bronze, seniors wax and clean the statue each spring as a right of passage before graduation. Cherrylion Studios cherishes our role in creating this tradition at such an incredible learning institution in Atlanta, GA.

Commission Your Own Custom Bronze Sculpture from Cherrylion Studios in Atlanta, GA

Cherrylion Studios can’t create pieces like Elliot’s Circle alone. We find great joy and inspiration collaborating with clients, discussing their vision, and bringing it to life in a custom bronze sculpture. If you have an idea for your own sculpture, bronze portrait, or bas-relief, we’d love to hear from you! Contact us today in Atlanta, GA to start molding your masterpiece.

Contact Us