As a student, Kath Girdler Engler wandered the art museums of Italy and France, admiring well-known sculptures of antiquity. She was especially stirred by the pieces that had been damaged by war or time. Engler began to see these intriguing archeological forms as a source of information for her work. The artist states, "I believe in the past lives in all of us. Also, as the child of a veteran antique dealer, I was reared to value old, broken and discarded items. Today, they have become important parts of my sculptures."

Engler's eclectic sculptures also celebrate the connections we have with each other and with the natural world. She explores such connections with figures made from and looking like elements of nature itself, using paper pulp mixed with natural and found objects. Engler's second home is in New Zealand, and some of her assemblages carry messages and use natural materials from that far away land.

A reception for the artist will take place at the Parthenon on Friday, August 15, from 6 - 8 p.m. Sponsored by The Conservancy for the Parthenon and Centennial Park, this reception is free and open to the public.

The Parthenon is open 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tuesday -Saturday.  Admission is $5.00 for adults and $2.50 for seniors 62 and over and children 4-17.  Children under 4 are free.