If you have attended a concert or basketball game at the Heartland school recently, you may have noticed that a new work of art is now in place in the theater/gymnasium lobby.  The bronze sculpture, titled “Guardian,†was created by LeRoy Goertz and presented to the Heartland Community School by the class of 1962, of which LeRoy was a member. The presentation was made to Superintendent Brad Best by class representative Vivian Boehr Pereboom at the Alumni Banquet last July.
LeRoy Goertz has spent most of his adult life as a sculptor.  His first medium was glass, but in the early ‘90s, he began casting bronze sculptures.  Goertz states that six years ago he had a transformative experience during a visit to a site in Louisiana that had been inhabited by the Native American Mound People. Seeing the sculptural forms created by this peaceful group, he had a vision to call artists of all races together to use their creativity to give homage to the ancients and thus be a way to heal cultural and historic memories.
As a result of this experience, LeRoy says, he came up with The Art of Reconciliation. He has been able to pull together a group of folks to form a non-profit organization, with the mission of inviting the power of art to heal our communities. The organization has had several shows with artists from all parts of the world who bring the beauty of their cultures through their art.
The sculptures that he now creates are part of his Reconciliation Series and give homage to the first people of the Americas whose land was taken from them.  “I trust that the sculptures from this series will help lead us toward healing for those wounded by such policies,†LeRoy states.
LeRoy continues, “All of my grandparents were Mennonites who came from Russia to Canada in the early part of the last century. All of us who had German roots and came from Russia have heard many stories of the suffering that our people have experienced there. My prayer is that this suffering will bring understanding to us for people of all races who have gone through their own tribulations.  My prayer continues that this understanding will lead us to find ways that we can work to right injustices that all of the children of the Creator have experienced.”
