La Dulce Mujer PintaDA

“The Sweet Painted Lady”

In 1986 sculptor, Helen Harrison, and her husband, Ben, a musician and writer, opened Harrison Gallery at 825 White Street. Arriving in 1979 aboard “La Dulce Mujer Pintada” (The Sweet Painted Lady), she immediately began sculpting, using the skills she had learned working with hand and power tools. It was a revelation because, with her newfound knowledge, she could actually shape mediums into the forms she envisioned. The boatbuilding also altered her mind set—after building a sailboat in Costa Rica, there wasn’t too much that was daunting—and there was so much of nature’s abundance to work with. Helen draws inspiration from the island’s indigenous, raw materials and transforms them into sensual, contemporary sculptures. Helen’s sculptures and two dimensional fine art have been the driving force behind the gallery that features, not only her work, but works from artists both locally and further afield.

"In the 1970s my husband, Ben, and I spent four years building a thirty-eight foot sailboat in Costa Rica, a massive project for two gringos in a foreign country. Starting with a bare hull, we designed and constructed this giant sculptural object of functional art using self-taught traditional wood techniques that set the stage for my present work. While traveling and living aboard, which we did for 11 years, I began my transition from boatwork to sculpture."

Read more about their journey in Ben’s book Sailing Down the Mountain: A Costa Rican Adventure