Up, Up & Away

Jordan Parah

Greenville, NC

Whimsical and playful, Jordan Parah's unique sculpture is perfectly at home at the Clayton Community Center at 715 Amelia Church Road. This beautiful location, new on the sculpture trail, is home to the Town of Clayton's Parks and Recreation Department, which just celebrated the 5th anniversary of this modern facility.

"Up, Up and Away" is a 200-pound work of steel that replicates Parah's version of a hot air balloon approaching lift-off. This colorful sculpture rises 10.5 feet toward the Carolina blue sky and spans 4 feet in width. Parah says she enjoys using contrasting metal forms, shapes and colors as a comparison that all people are different, yet all are equal. Her works often use aluminum, steel, bronze and stainless steel in combination to create balance and harmony out of diversity.

Parah, a first-time exhibitor to the 3rd Annual Downtown Sculpture Trail, has two works on display. In addition to this piece, "Sunrise, Sunset", another fabricated steel structure is located in Town Square at the corner of S Fayetteville and Main Streets.

Since graduating from East Carolina University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Sculpture and minor in Art History, Parah has continued to create metal fabricated sculpture in her studio in Greenville, NC. In addition to her studio work, Jordan works part-time at City Art Gallery in Greenville and at the Greenville Museum of Art.