Melanie Zibit studied at Brandeis University, graduating with honors in sculpture and the advice of a professor to go to Italy to study with the masters. There, she learned to carve in the famed workshops of Carrara and Petrasanta. Since then, her award-winning pieces have been displayed in private homes, museums, universities, and been included in publications such as 100 Artists of New England and the March 2021 issue 22 of Spotlight Magazine.
In today’s difficult times, I am inspired to create marble sculptures that speak of the beauty of ancient, classic works. Marble carving is a meditative process, bringing focus because one wrong move changes everything. Arctic Ice commemorates the crucial importance and integral relationship of the Arctic to our global environment. The cascade of jagged edges along the side of natural stone symbolized the melting of the Arctic ice. The sculpture also evokes the beauty of the naturally occurring ice forms–arches, walls, caverns–that populate the polar glaciers.
Arctic Ice was carved from Vermont marble and is placed on a stainless steel reflective base.