Trinity Eagle
- MGMoA
- Dec 18, 2022
- 3 min read
by Liam Larson, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art Preparator and A/V Specialist
When artist G. Patrick Riley approached the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art about a steel mask for the museum courtyard in 2016, no one knew the twists and turns the ensuing journey would take over the next six years.
G. Patrick Riley is an Oklahoma artist known nationally for his art and art education. He received the Arts in Education award at the Governor’s Arts Awards ceremony in 1997. Riley has regularly taught summer art classes at the Mabee-Gerrer Museum. One of his artistic areas of expertise is in mask-making. In 2010, he created a mask specifically for pop artist Lady Gaga. His typical medium for masks is leather, though he has branched out into other mediums.
One new medium Patrick has been exploring is steel. As a part of the Oklahoma Public Art Program, Riley created a 28-foot-tall stainless-steel mask sculpture, with the help of Paseo artist Colin Rosenbrook, entitled Freedom Eagle for the Oklahoma Supreme Court Building. The 400-pound sculpture lives in the atrium of the building and spans three stories. Justice Yvonne Kauger was a champion of the program and is a supporter of the arts in Oklahoma.
Kauger enjoyed Riley’s masks so much that she secured two more masks: one for her private residence and one for her hometown of Colony, Oklahoma. The justice’s personal sculpture is titled Warrior Eagle and is 12-feet-tall. Freedom Eagle Two is located in Colony, stands at 14-feet-tall, and weighs over a ton. Colony is a small town in Washita County. The Colony Museum opened in 2020 in part through a grant from the Oklahoma Historical Society. This steel mask sculpture was created using black steel with steelwork by Ron Lowry and welding from Glen Henry. Riley and Henry would team up again for the creation of the next steel mask at the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art in Shawnee.
Six years ago, Riley approached the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art Director, Dane Pollei, about creating a mask sculpture for the museum. The MGMoA has held a special place in Riley’s heart as the artist describes his love of art being fostered at the museum in his early childhood years through interactions with Father Gregory Gerrer. “He was very nice to me and his collection of art made a first impression on me which I still have today... It is a great feeling of honor to be able to contribute to the legacy of Father Gerrer and the Museum, and give back to the Museum by donating a work of sculpture to the Museum.”
After years of work, and with help from Glenn Nerwin on sanding the massive wings and
Glen Henry on welding the wings and mask to
the central auger, the sculpture, Trinity Eagle, was finished in the summer of 2022. The sculpture was installed in early fall with help from the Shawnee community and was unveiled on September 30 as part of the Celestial Connections exhibition which featured art by Oklahoma artists G. Patrick Riley, Glen Henry, and Sharon Montgomery.
Looking at Trinity Eagle, one notices three prominent feathers just above the eye holes. These feathers represent the holy trinity. The steel auger in the center that supports the mask represents the working man of Oklahoma. Trinity Eagle is a spiritual and physical successor to the OKSC’s Freedom Eagle due to similarities in the shape of the mask and through some of Freedom Eagle’s left-over metal being used in the making of Trinity Eagle. In total, the museum’s sculpture is over ten-feet-tall and weighs over 400 pounds.
Riley hopes that the sculpture will be a positive influence on a new generation of children visiting the museum, “The Museum has influenced art and culture to so many young Oklahoma children of which I am one, it makes the Museum very special to me and my family and friends.”
Do you want to make a mask of your own?
What you will need:
● Paper plate
● Pencil
● Crayons or colored pencils
● Pipe cleaners or string
Adult-only tools:
● Hole punch
● Scissors
Step 1: Cut your paper plate in half. You can use each half to make a mask.
Step 2: Draw two circles for eye holes. You don’t want to cut into your pretty art once its done so it's better to mark it off at the start.
Step 3: Take your crayons or colored pencils and draw whatever you like! You could make it look like an animal like a bear or you could just draw fun designs like rainbows or swirls.
Step 4: Ask your parent or a trusted adult to cut out your eye holes and add two holes on the sides.
Step 5: Loop string through the two side holes to tie the mask to your head. Or if you prefer a more colorful option, try tying a few pipe cleaners together instead!
Step 6: Go and have some fun wearing your new mask!
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