The Goddess of Grapes

Sculpture by Deb Zeller

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## History

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The Goddess of Grapes in Sioux City, Iowa was sculpted by Deb Zeller and purchased by Sculpt Siouxland in 2010.[1] Sculpt Siouxland is a private nonprofit organization that was developed by staff from the Sioux City Growth Organization to help preserve their ongoing mission to make downtown Sioux City more engaging with art.[2] The Goddess of Grapes was later installed as part of the permanent collection outside on Fourth Street. It is a representation of the goddess Ariadne, wife of Dionysus.

The statue was displayed until September 22, 2015, when an employee noticed that it had been stolen from its spot while doing a routine check of their outside collections pieces.[1] On September 28, 2015, the statue was found outside of the Sioux City Art Center on a bench where it was brought inside to check for damages.[3] After the Goddess of Grapes statue was cleared of damages, it was then put back in its original place on Fourth Street a month later.[4] Two years later, the statue was stolen again from the same spot in late June 2017.[5] In April 2019, the Goddess of Grapes statue was found and returned after nearly two years and in a different town, Waterloo, Iowa.[6] The statue was first found in a garage by a homeless woman, Shelly Reichert, while visiting a friend in Des Moines, Iowa around December 2018.[7] Later confirming the authenticity of the statue, Reichert contacted the curator of the Sioux City Art Center, Todd Behrens, to inform him of where the statue was and to schedule a retrieval of the statue.[8] The object would be picked up from the Grout Museum in Waterloo, Iowa from Nick Erickson who is the Registrar there.[9][10] The statue was then checked for damages, and will be off display until repairs can be completed. Once repairs are done, the statue will be placed in a more secure location that still has not been determined.[11]

## Artist

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Deb Zeller is an artist who primarily works out of Hopkins, Minnesota. She has her own studio as well as part owner of Parley Lake Winery, a vineyard. She is the founder of Bronze Buddies, a bronze consortium.[12][13]

## References

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1. ^ a b Gonzalez, Jordan. "Disappearance of missing Sioux City statue still a mystery". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
2. ^ "Sculpt Siouxland - Sioux City Art Center". 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
3. ^ Group, Sinclair Broadcast (2015-09-28). "Goddess of the Grapes Returned". KMEG. Retrieved 2022-11-14. `{{cite web}}`: `|last=` has generic name (help)
4. ^ Kaufman, Kirby. "Authorities locate stolen Sculpt Siouxland statue". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
5. ^ Richardson, Ian. "'Goddess of the Grapes' sculpture stolen from downtown Sioux City". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
6. ^ Copple, Katie (2019-04-11). "Two years after she mysteriously disappeared, Goddess of the Grapes has been found". KMEG. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
7. ^ "Stolen "Goddess of the Grapes" Statue Returned to Sioux City". Iowa Public Radio. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
8. ^ Calvin, Aaron. "The 'Goddess of Grapes' caper: Homeless Iowa woman recovers and returns stolen sculpture to Sioux City Art Center". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
9. ^ "Nick Erickson - Grout Museum District Located in Waterloo, Iowa". www.groutmuseumdistrict.org. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
10. ^ Vessel, Taylor. ""This is as close as I'm going to get to Indiana Jones, I think." Stolen statue found in Waterloo". KWWL. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
11. ^ Gottburg, Woody (2019-05-17). "MYSTERY STILL SURROUNDS THE "GODDESS OF THE GRAPES"". KSCJ 1360. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
12. ^ "Parley Lake Winery - Waconia, MN". Parley Lake Winery. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
13. ^ "The Art of Deb Zeller". Zeller Studio. Retrieved 2022-11-14.