Installation of local artist’s sculpture in Downtown Gulfport
If you’re in Downtown Gulfport, off 14th Street you’ll notice a new sculpture installation. The finished project will represent a piece of South Mississippi.
In Downtown Gulfport, Gail Hendrickson watches as her hard work and dedication pays off. On Thursday, the installation began of the sculpture she’s spent the last several years working on. “I was commissioned to do this piece and I was given a little bit of latitude to come up with ideas and I submitted a couple of ideas and a schooner was the chosen design and they wanted it large and to be here, a part of the aquarium.”
Hendrickson was commissioned to create the sculpture by the Mississippi Sound Historical Foundation. The schooner is made entirely of steel and will include dolphins in front of it leading the way. She hopes the sculpture gives people a taste of South Mississippi. “It’s almost like seeing a child graduate from school. I don’t have any kids so this is like a child to me. It means everything to me. It’s my queen of the sound. I hope they can see a bit of our history, the history of Gulfport being the port of the gulf here in Mississippi.”
James Jackson helped Hendrickson complete the project. He says he was honored to work with Hendrickson and can’t wait for others to see the finished product. “I think we’ve done a pretty good job. I can’t wait to see it mounted. It’s going to stand out. It’s going to look good around the aquarium. She put a lot into it. I don’t know how she engineered this thing but she’s quite talented.”
