Seemingly a born entrepreneur, thirty-year old Crysten Nesseth has a lot on the go. She is busy creating award-winning public art – often utilizing the industrial scrap discards of her father Clifford (owner of a thriving agricultural equipment business) – creates smaller pieces she sells online, and runs several business endeavours as well.

That she has found time to get her engrossing sculpture here is a small miracle – one that Sculpturewalk patrons will be thankful for though.

Dividing her time between Minnesota and Wisconsin, Nesseth is always busy with her art, the many facets of her business pursuits and other intrigues.

“Growing up in the family business, discarded metal was a part of my life, and always appealing to me,” she says. “So not long after graduating from St. Olaf College in 2012, I started Iron Maid Art knowing I had a ready source of materials.”

It is her duo state-based recycled arts enterprise, and it is thriving. Without formal art training, she has established a business that boasts a myriad of talents – metalworking, 2D art, graphic design, networking and music.

Her sculpture on display here is – in a word – stunning. Crafted entirely from recycled industrial parts with a bit of mild steel Harp is, as the instrument itself, a thing of beauty.

Nesseth’s eye for design, her fabricating skills and her overall vision shine through in this wondrous sculpture. Anchored by an elaborate saw blade mechanism at the crown, the detail incorporated into the classical form is marvelous.

Twisted iron strands emulate the delicate strings. The back of the soundboard is a mélange of metal parts and cutouts, all harmonious, the front a gorgeous feather-shaped shimmer of metal. The balance and delicacy of the sculpture is readily apparent. Inanimate but full of life and grandeur, it begs to be played.

Lustrously sculpted, Nesseth’s Harp is a testament to her talent and vision. She is an iron maiden in the very best way: extremely creative, unerring and indefatigable.

www.ironmaidart.com