 Robert Pulley grew up in the American Midwest where frequent solitary walks in the woods and along creeks and rivers of rural Indiana etched strong impressions into his memory of the varied forms, colors and textures around him. Evidence of the effects of time were everywhere in the rock strata, glacial till, ancient trees and aboriginal artifacts. There he found a sense of wonder that embraced the cycles of coming and going, change and chance. Pulley has a Master`s Degree in Sculpture and Ceramics from Ball State University. He has maintained a studio and pursued ceramics and sculpture since 1971. His work is in private and public collections throughout the country. &ldquo;Looking back on my ceramic work over the years, I see an evolution of expressive forms based on intuition and improvisation. The work flows from my life as a result of perception and feeling. The sculptures reflect qualities that I recognize in nature and that strike a chord within me: burgeoning energy, tactile and visual richness of surface and form as well as evidence of inevitable loss and change. They combine references to organic growth, geologic stratification and erosion, figurative gesture and time. The resulting layering of references to growth and decay, plant and animal, biological and inorganic embeds the human figure within the teeming forces of nature.&rdquo; 

Ancestral Way

 Renee and Child by Jerald Jacquard is a stainless steel and concrete abstract sculpture. Constructed in 2009, it was placed at its current location at 1285 Indianapolis Road circa 2011. 

Renee and Child

 The Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans was designed by Thompson and Rose Architects and was dedicated in 1997. Located next to the Bartholomew County Courthouse, the memorial is constructed of twenty-five Indiana limestone pillars, each forty-feet tall. They are arranged in a 5 x 5 square with walking space between each pillar. The pillars on the exterior retain their rough-hewn finish; the pillars' interior surface is smooth. Engraved on the pillars are the names of Bartholomew County veterans who died during wars in the twentieth-century. Excerpts from diaries and soldiers' letters home are also engraved on the pillars. Landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh designed the grounds with grids of flowering trees. The Memorial is located withing the Columbus Arts District. The architect's fees were paid by the Cummins Foundation Architecture Program. 

Bartholomew County Courthouse

Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans

 Hope Library was designed by Deborah Berke with Veszey Parrot &amp; Shoulders serving as associate architects. The library is located east of downtown Hope, Indiana and was completed in 1998. Built of iron-spotted bricks, steel-frame windows, and metal awnings, the library`s design complements the nearby First Financial Bank (formerly Irwin Union Bank) designed by Harry Weese in 1958. Rising above the single-story building is a zinc-clad monitor with clerestory windows. Interior finishes include maple paneling, Indiana limestone details, Douglas fir ceiling, and arched laminated timber beams. The library also serves as the community`s civic center. The architect`s fees were paid by the Cummins Foundation Architecture Program. 

Hope Library

 First Financial Bank (formerly Irwin Union Bank) Creekview Branch was designed by Deborah Berke with Todd Williams serving as associate architect. Completed in 2006, the bank is located amid a jumbled collection of big box retail buildings, a multiplex theater, chain restaurants, and a car wash. The bank is a simple rectangular building of buff masonry. A translucent rectangular box floats over the building and provides a canopy for the four drive-through lanes. The "light box" is made of planks of structural channel glass. During the day natural light filters through the box into the banking hall below; at night the box glows from lights inside it -- transforming the structure into a sculptural object. 

First Financial Bank - Creekview Branch

Columbus (Indiana) Area Arts Council’s mission is to provide visionary leadership in the arts. The Arts Council fosters, supports, and promotes growth in the arts that educate and enrich the cultural environment of Bartholomew County and Region 9. Region 9 consists of a nine-county area and includes Bartholomew, Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jackson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland counties.

Columbus Area Arts Council

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