Harvey the 6-foot rabbit makes his debut at last
AACC and sculptor Spencer mark completion of statue after about seven years
You couldn’t miss Harvey, even if you tried.
He was standing stoically at the end of a long hallway at the sculpture studio, waiting to greet his guests. After all, the party was for him.
“Oh Harvey, you look so sweet!” JoAnn York said. “You almost look real.”
This month Anne Arundel Community College celebrated Irma Spencer’s completion of Harvey — a 6-foot rabbit made of concrete. The 250-pound sculpture took the Annapolis resident about seven years to make.
“I can’t believe I finished it,” said Spencer, 89.
The rabbit was inspired by the 1950 movie “Harvey,” in which Jimmy Stewart plays a wealthy drunk whose best friend is a 6-foot-3 1 /2-inch rabbit named Harvey whom no one else can see. While everyone around him thinks Stewart is insane, it’s unclear throughout the film if Harvey is actually real or not.
Spencer said he watched “Harvey” decades ago, and its funny plot stayed in the back of her mind. When she found herself ready to begin a new sculpture about seven years ago, she decided to recreate the outsized bunny.
The piece is officially named “Harvey at Lunchtime” because there’s a bite taken out of the carrot Harvey is holding. The sculpture is made of beige Dryvit, a waterproof concrete. The only colors on the statue are the pink on Harvey’s nose and inner ears and the orange and green on the carrot.
Harvey’s eyes are made of taxidermy giraffe eyes — they’re the biggest ones Spencer could find on the internet.
Spencer hasbeen sculptingas ahobbyfor about 40 years and said the art form has allowed her to express herself. She began taking classes at Montgomery College and then at AACC in Arnold when she moved to Annapolis about seven years ago. She’s worked on Harvey about once a week for the past seven years. “It’s the only thing I ever wanted to do,” she said of sculpting.
Wilfredo Valladares, coordinator of the sculpture program at AACC, said Spencer’s energy has inspired other students in his class. From the project’s inception, Valladares said he’s been impressed that Spencer wanted to tackle a project of that size.
She was always willing to try new techniques and found solutions to barriers that came up through the years, he said.
At the celebration, attendees included lifelong friends, classmates and former teachers. Guests munched on carrots and corn puffs while they drank sparkling grape juice. There was also a chocolate cake depicting Harvey.
York, a Germantown resident who has known Spencer for about 30 years, owns one of Spencer’s pieces, a sculpture of a seal named Sealie. York described Spencer as “dedicated” and a “perfectionist,” and said she wasn’t surprised her friend finished the long-term project.
“I love Harvey,” she said. “He looks so soft far away.”
Despite spending seven years together, Spencer said she won’t miss Harvey as long as she knows where the statue ends up. She is currently looking for places for Harvey to stay, and ideally would like him to be at a local school or at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.
She isn’t interested in getting a commission for the piece; she just wants it to be at a place where she can visit.
So what does Spencer have in store for her next sculpture? She’s still brainstorming ideas, but knows it won’t be 6 feet tall. mnewman@capgaznews.com
He was standing stoically at the end of a long hallway at the sculpture studio, waiting to greet his guests. After all, the party was for him.
“Oh Harvey, you look so sweet!” JoAnn York said. “You almost look real.”
This month Anne Arundel Community College celebrated Irma Spencer’s completion of Harvey — a 6-foot rabbit made of concrete. The 250-pound sculpture took the Annapolis resident about seven years to make.
“I can’t believe I finished it,” said Spencer, 89.
The rabbit was inspired by the 1950 movie “Harvey,” in which Jimmy Stewart plays a wealthy drunk whose best friend is a 6-foot-3 1 /2-inch rabbit named Harvey whom no one else can see. While everyone around him thinks Stewart is insane, it’s unclear throughout the film if Harvey is actually real or not.
Spencer said he watched “Harvey” decades ago, and its funny plot stayed in the back of her mind. When she found herself ready to begin a new sculpture about seven years ago, she decided to recreate the outsized bunny.
The piece is officially named “Harvey at Lunchtime” because there’s a bite taken out of the carrot Harvey is holding. The sculpture is made of beige Dryvit, a waterproof concrete. The only colors on the statue are the pink on Harvey’s nose and inner ears and the orange and green on the carrot.
Harvey’s eyes are made of taxidermy giraffe eyes — they’re the biggest ones Spencer could find on the internet.
Spencer hasbeen sculptingas ahobbyfor about 40 years and said the art form has allowed her to express herself. She began taking classes at Montgomery College and then at AACC in Arnold when she moved to Annapolis about seven years ago. She’s worked on Harvey about once a week for the past seven years. “It’s the only thing I ever wanted to do,” she said of sculpting.
Wilfredo Valladares, coordinator of the sculpture program at AACC, said Spencer’s energy has inspired other students in his class. From the project’s inception, Valladares said he’s been impressed that Spencer wanted to tackle a project of that size.
She was always willing to try new techniques and found solutions to barriers that came up through the years, he said.
At the celebration, attendees included lifelong friends, classmates and former teachers. Guests munched on carrots and corn puffs while they drank sparkling grape juice. There was also a chocolate cake depicting Harvey.
York, a Germantown resident who has known Spencer for about 30 years, owns one of Spencer’s pieces, a sculpture of a seal named Sealie. York described Spencer as “dedicated” and a “perfectionist,” and said she wasn’t surprised her friend finished the long-term project.
“I love Harvey,” she said. “He looks so soft far away.”
Despite spending seven years together, Spencer said she won’t miss Harvey as long as she knows where the statue ends up. She is currently looking for places for Harvey to stay, and ideally would like him to be at a local school or at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.
She isn’t interested in getting a commission for the piece; she just wants it to be at a place where she can visit.
So what does Spencer have in store for her next sculpture? She’s still brainstorming ideas, but knows it won’t be 6 feet tall. mnewman@capgaznews.com
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