One Step at a Time

FINDING WHOLENESS THROUGH ART AND WRITING

Shortly before her fiftieth birthday, Vicki Rottman discovered stone carving and became a sculptor. A few months later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. As soon as she was able to after surgery, she returned to sculpting. Much to her surprise and delight, embedded in each new creation was a personal message that often became clear only when the piece was completed and titled. Writing about it unearthed an even deeper meaning.

Here in chronological order are thirty-eight of Vicki's sculptures created over a period of nine years. They show her artistic progression as well as the life lessons she needed to learn along the way. At the time she was sculpting, she was also writing memoirs and re-evaluating her past. By gathering up the bits and pieces of her life and embracing them all, she found wholeness. Her sculptures taught her what was important; her writing reminded her who she was.

Presented in this book are photographs of Vicki's sculptures, along with aphorisms distilling the messages each one revealed. These are accompanied by abbreviated versions of the musings which led her to wellness.

The first sculpture she made after recuperating from surgery was a two-sided figure. While she was working on it, she thought of it as "Comedy and Tragedy." On the front was a shrouded female figure, her head tilted down, one hand over her breast. On the back was another figure wearing a sort of kimono and with a face like a mask in a Japanese drama, with a huge smile. She ended up calling the piece "Look on the Bright Side."

The last sculpture included here was inspired by Vicki's meeting two young activists walking across the country for peace. Amazed, she could not imagine undertaking such a feat. When she asked them how they managed to do it, they answered, "One step at a time." That is a fitting metaphor for the path of her own healing, both physical and spiritual. Each sculpture represents a step along the way.

One step at a time: how else can one face any undertaking, journey or challenge? All these sculptures and their messages are lessons for living. They apply, not only to healing from cancer, but also to living a holistic life. You do not need to be a sculptor or a cancer survivor to appreciate this book. One Step at a Time: Lessons for Living inspires readers to look at their own lives and find their own purpose and meaning.

WHAT READERS HAVE SAID ABOUT ONE STEP AT A TIME:

"I love thinking of this sitting on a coffee table and someone reaching for it to see what speaks to them, flipping to a page and receiving the lesson that is there." "It can be a spiritual experience--one that connects individuals to their own intuition." "I have so enjoyed reading, looking, and re-reading." "I look forward to having this book to refer to and contemplate." "What a profoundly beautiful, powerful, insightful and creative piece of art."

After careers in architectural drafting, architectural history and video production, in 1995 Vicki Rottman took up stone carving. She is also a life-long journal writer, memoirist and essayist. Vicki resides in Denver, Colorado, where she has lived since 1971.