De L’Esprie (1957 - )

Many have admired her work at the Janss Mall, at the Promenade and at the Crystal Cathedral. A Canadian by birth, sculptor De L’Esprie’s first forays into art began by painting under beds and in closets, haunts that took her away from the chaos in her home. Collecting river-bank clay near a Mohawk Indian reservation led her to the realization that sculpture would be her preferred medium. She dedicated herself to sculpture but only after earning degrees in business and counseling. Her works, notable for a sense of movement, are executed in bronze, a medium she chooses for its strength and timelessness. She sculpts to escape what is ugly in the world, creating powerful and often joyful works that evoke an emotional and spiritual response in the viewer. An underlying philosophy is that out of adversity comes strength. Teaching privately and at the Loveland Academy of Fine Arts in Colorado, De L’Esprie stresses the importance of bones and musculature, instilling in her students an appreciation of the architecture of the human form. She is a deeply spiritual artist whose sculptures celebrate both the human and the divine.