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MANTUA — An artist from Green Bay, Wis., whose work can be found across the country, recently moved to Utah and created an impressive sculpture of a moose in hopes of inspiring and assisting breast cancer patients.
After his own wife, Carol, died from breast cancer a few years ago, Carl Vanderheyden sold most of his possessions and left Wisconsin in a van — to start a new life and be closer to his three married children and grandchildren in Utah.
Vanderheyden ended up in Mantua, a town at the eastern edge of Box Elder County, where he felt inspired to work on a couple of different projects, one of which is a large, colorful moose that has a pink breast cancer ribbon hanging where the moose's dewlap normally sits.
"Mantua the Moose," as it is called, has a urethane foam core with an acrylic polymer over the top. Vanderheyden hand-sculpted the fur and hair and then used acrylic paints on top of that to provide more detail. The moose antlers are resin reproduction and span an impressive 62 inches. Vanderheyden, who previously sculpted mostly with steel, said the moose looks almost real, except for the fact that it's colorful.
Included with the sculpture, Vanderheyden explains the character of a moose — something he has deeply researched. He has written how the spirit of a moose can inspire people who are fighting breast cancer.
"The words are really the powerful thing behind it," he said.
"Moose energy offers you courage to face a difficult situation, perhaps even a fight you'd rather avoid," the notation reads, according to Vanderheyden's website. "There's a word that sums up the spiritual energy of a moose — imposing — like Mantua, you are an unstoppable force! While you may sometimes find yourself feeling alone in the world, you always remember that you are a part of something much larger — something wild and wonderful."
Jennifer Lieberenz, Vanderheyden's late wife's sister, was also diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. She has since undergone a radical bilateral mastectomy and six months of chemotherapy. Ultimately, she will have a hysterectomy and reconstructive surgery.
For the three months prior to Carol Vanderheyden's death, Lieberenz was a caregiver day in and day out — 24/7. Lieberenz said her sister was always full of hope — they had been raised to think optimistically — and, ultimately, Lieberenz wouldn't allow visitors to see her unless they were there to offer encouragement.
Lieberenz thinks her brother-in-law has done a great job on "Mantua the Moose." To her, the moose represents how breast cancer patients have an inner strength to help them fight cancer and to continue to be the sisters, mothers, daughters and friends that they are and always will be.
"We can have our bad days, which we are all going to have — but that inner strength, when we need it for our children, for our spouses, for our friends, for our family – it's there," Lieberenz said.
Vanderheyden believes that a person's physical ability to heal can be affected by having hope.
While you may sometimes find yourself feeling alone in the world, you always remember that you are a part of something much larger — something wild and wonderful.
–Carl Vanderheyden, artist
"I think if this moose were hanging in a cancer center and these words were on a brass plaque … below this thing, it could really be something," he said.
Vanderheyden hopes to sell "Mantua the Moose" to cancer facilities for $17,000. Those interested in purchasing can contact him on his website. The money he earns will be used toward his sister-in-law's cancer treatment and the future of his moose project.
Other works created by the artist can be found at the Neville Public Museum in Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, Edgewood Orchard Galleries and other private and public collections across the country.
