A new treat for Joshua Tree residents and visitors. World-class Yucca Valley sculptor David Falossi has created a stone sculpture in the Turtle Island area. Reporter David Haldane spoke with Falossi…
“Spirit climb.” That’s the name of a new sculpture soon to be dedicated in downtown Joshua Tree. And that’s what most people feel gazing at the carving of a man intently climbing a rock.
“Both Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley are special places. There’s a spiritual awakening happening in our area that ties in with the thematic material of the sculpture. He’s climbing and it can symbolize what we all have to go through in our own spiritual climb.”
That’s David Falossi, the 58-year-old sculptor who’s been carving stone at his Yucca Valley studio since 1989. This one, he says, was inspired by the popularity of rock climbing at Joshua Tree National Park. Then a patron of the arts, Paul Sutton, bought it to commemorate his deceased wife. Sutton donated the carving to the people of Joshua Tree and, voila, a new public monument was born.
“I would hope the whole community treasures that.”
The dedication is set for 10 a.m. December 5 at Turtle Island, where the farmer’s market happens every Saturday.
