Althea’s wonderfully charming effort to provide a wealth of practical lessons & knowledge to her family was the most significant driving factor into my interpretation. Much of what she did was very symbolic of a backbone’s purpose- providing strong, internal support from which everything else extends and grows.  Because the human backbone consists of 26 pieces, I sculpted 26 individual pieces to represent a few of the countless unique & useful lessons I’m sure Althea left with her family. These individual pieces create something much greater, a network- a network that can withstand any circumstance. On top of her stern lessons, it sounds like she had bit of humor, and because of that I wanted to include a small syrup drip to represent those vinegar pancakes. Althea is definitely someone to admire.

- Brandon Stammen, Artist