Yoga sculpture perched above river between Burlington and Winooski vanishes in flooding
A sculpture well-known to those who pass by or over the Winooski River between Burlington and Winooski vanished in flooding this week.
“It's true, she was swept away by the current on Tuesday evening,” Devin Russell, studio manager at Laughing River Yoga, wrote in an email exchange Thursday morning with the Burlington Free Press.
The statue, known as “Natarajasana,” depicts a yoga practitioner balancing on one foot, her other foot held high in the air by her hand. According to the website of the sculptor, Tyler Vendituoli of Vergennes, the 2013 work is 5-and-a-half feet tall and was created from stainless-steel knives, forks and spoons.
The sculpture has since been perched on a concrete wall jutting into the often-turgid Winooski River near the Chace Mill on the Burlington side of the river. The mill is home to businesses including Laughing River Yoga and the vegan Pingala Café.
“Purchased by Pingala Café, Natarajasana is composed entirely of steel cutlery,” according to Vendituoli’s website. “Her installation on a concrete wall in the middle of the Winooski River was an especially exciting part of the project. She has weathered numerous storms perched firmly on one steady foot.”
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The statue named for the yoga pose known as “lord of the dance,” however, did not weather the heavy rains Sunday and Monday that caused destructive flooding throughout much of Vermont. Northwestern Vermont escaped without as much damage as that suffered in central and southern regions of the state, but “Natarajasana” did not fare so well.
Russell is optimistic the tale of “Natarajasana” could have a happy ending. She wrote that Laughing River Yoga received word Thursday morning that the statue was spotted near the dam a short distance downstream. “We are hopeful that she can be rescued and returned to us,” Russell wrote.
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont floods claim yoga sculpture perched above Winooski River
