Home of the Innocents sculpture dedication

There was a preview party for the sculptures the day after they were installed. Hosted by Sharon Receveur, we had a lot of great food and we got to meet a lot of great people.

The dedication cememony began with Sharon Receveur giving words of welcome, followed by Home of the Innocents CEO Gordon Brown and then Linda Speed spoke. Sharon Receveur and Linda Speed were the catalyst for the project, and they gathered a committee for which this project was obviously a labor of love. Many, many hours were spent finding all the names of the children. They were a great group of people to work with.

Ciaran Brown played Sister Emily Cooper in a production called "Remember me"

Each of the child actors stepped forward with one of the names of the children. Some had a short description of the childs short life which ended with the question "Will you remember me?" It was a quite moving performance.

Becky Riddle unveils a historical marker about Sister Emily Cooper and her work at Home of the Innocents.

Doves were released as "Ascension" was unveiled.

"Ascension" unveiled. The prayer and blessing of the sculptures was led by Rabbi Stanley Miles of Temple Shalom and Bishop Reed. The Ballard High School Madrigal Singers gave a performance before the unveiling of "Ascension". Linda Speed is on the right in the red jacket.

Metamorphosis in her site. The butterflies on the blanket symbolize the children. THe sculpture represents how Sister Emily Cooper, through her care, symbolized by the blanket,helped the children achieve spirituality

Detail of "Metamorphosis." Here you can see how the butterflies transform from flat patterns to fully dimensional butterflies, symbolizing the children's spiritual transformation.

"Metamorphosis" from the left side.

"Ascension" from the front. This piece represents Sister Emilys work with children, guiding them to spiritual growth.

Detail of "Ascension"

The back of Ascension.

Cave Hill Cemetery donated this marble bench near Metamorphosis as well as a bench next to Ascension. They beautifully set off both sculptures.