SCULPTING - Janesville area artist Robin Warburton's piece "Daybreak" was selected for inclusion in the fine arts display at the Minnesota State Fair. More than 2,800 works were submitted, only 337 were included. Warburton's piece, pictured bottom right, features a meadowlark and placed fifth in the show.The Waseca Area Art Center will be featuring a display of works by Robin Warburton in November. The show will feature at least 20 new sculptures and will include the unveiling of her larger-than-life size sculpture of a bald eagle. Pioneer photo by Deb Bently
Local artist places well at prestigious state fair show
Thu, 09/11/2025 - 12:15am
Local artist Robin Warburton’s sculpture “Daybreak,” which features an open-mouthed eastern meadowlark apparently in the act of singing, placed very highly at the competitive “juried” fine arts show held at the Minnesota State Fair.
A summary sheet displayed at the show indicated more than 2,800 original pieces had been submitted in the categories of painting, sculptures, watercolor, drawings, ceramics/glass, textiles/fiber and photography; only a total of 337 were accepted. Of the 172 sculptures submitted for consideration, Warburton’s was one of 21 selected.
Warburton mentioned her piece was the only “realistic” three-dimensional sculpture made of wood. After judge Dennis Kalow, who Warburton observed tended to favor abstract pieces, evaluated all items in the show, he placed “Daybreak” in fifth place overall. The pieces in first through fourth place followed principles of abstract art. Warburton shares that, in 2024, her sculpture of a kestrel took fourth place in the state fair show.
An article in an April edition of the Pioneer described two larger-than-life-size projects Warburton has had underway for the past several months–an eagle with its wings outstretched and its talons open, and a great-horned owl named Alice, whose living inspiration is kept by the International Owl Center in Houston, Minn., because of an injury.
The “Alice” sculpture is moving forward, but far from finished, Warburton explains, at least partly because she does not yet have specifications about where and how the sculpture will eventually be mounted and displayed.
The eagle, on the other hand, is complete. Warburton says she looks forward to its unveiling during her “Minnesota Nature Alive in Wood” showing scheduled at the Waseca Art Center from Nov. 1 to Dec. 19. The piece, titled America Freedom 250, has a wingspan of seven feet, six inches.
She notes she is spending much of her creative time sculpting additional pieces for that show, with the intent of having at least 20 never-shown-elsewhere pieces to display. She says she is using some techniques new to her to stretch her boundaries a bit. Among the pieces underway are a number featuring sculpted flowers, including a hummingbird drinking deeply from a blue morning glory. Nearby, a wooden goldfinch eyes a hand-sculpted zinnia while a monarch butterfly rests at the base of a yellow pansy.
Warburton notes she looks forward to the show since the staff at the Waseca Art Center are willing to be flexible and make their needs for displays known in advance.
