'Guns Into Plowshares’ returns to Washington
after 7 years in Virginia
https://anabaptistworld.org/guns-into-plowshares-returns-to-washington-after-7-years-in-virginia/
2024 This sculpture is a 16-foot tall steel plow and has more
than 3,000 handguns welded into the sculptural form.
It is called Guns into Plowshares and was created by Esther Augsburger, an artist.
The photo to the left is Gary Suter. Gary's brother, Everett, helped Esther with creating the huge plowshare form and with welding the guns to the plowshare.
You can see some of the guns welded to the sculpture.
The guns were turned into the police department as
part of a voluntary surrender program, and holes were torched into the guns' firing mechanisms so they
could not be reused. "
Esther's husband is Myron Augsburger who was the president of EMU from 1965 - 1980.
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Here are other reports about this magnificent statue:
The "Guns Into Plowshares" sculpture, dedicated
Oct. 10, will be at Eastern Mennonite University for two to three years before
returning to its original exhibition site in Judiciary Square outside the
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
The sculpture contains several thousand
handguns, including 10 from the Harrisonburg Police Department. Esther
Augsburger, wife of President Emeritus Myron Augsburger, and son Michael
created the sculpture in the late '90s. (Photos by Macson McGuigan)
"They shall beat their swords into plowhshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Isaiah 2:4
ESTHER AUGSBURGER SHARES HER FAITH, CONVICTIONS AND IDEAS
THROUGH ART
EVEN WITH HER ART IN THE HOMES OF FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER AND THE REV.
BILLY GRAHAM, AUGSBURGER FEELS THAT THERE ARE ALWAYS MORE PEOPLE TO REACH
THROUGH HER ART.
By Angela Morgan ('03)
Esther Augsburger feels something in her heart and then allows her hands to mold the message
through sculpture.
"I don't create to give a meaning to my work. I feel something deep inside for my own sake," says
the artist, who earned her Master of Arts degree in sculpture from JMU in 1978.
Augsburger, who also completed art studies in Switzerland, took a leave of absence from her
teaching duties at Eastern Mennonite University to complete her master's degree.
Though now retired,
Augsburger at the time taught painting at EMU and a course on the life and work of Paul Klee at
Georgetown University.
And retirement has not slowed down this artist. She still directs the eight-year-old art program
that she established at Eastern Mennonite High School, and her original art has been recognized
worldwide with much praise and critical acclaim.
The humble Augsburger says, "I feel as if it is a gift that
God has given me to share with the world."
Augsburger cites many influences on her artwork, including attending a school under British rule
in India and moving to America. Her love for creating things began as a child growing up in India. "As a
child, I created sculptures out of mud because I didn't have any toys," she explains. (Esther's was born in India, where her parents were missionaries.)
From that point on,
she has taken an interest in the figurative; and she seldom uses a model for her sculptures. The ideas
come from her subconscious.
The mixture of American and Indian cultures is evident in Augsburger's work, and her Christian
faith gives her greater insight in her works. She says, "I draw from my faith to help create my pieces."
Many of Augsburger's original pieces have religious themes. "Sometimes teachers and critics
have asked me if religion might hinder my creativity," says a bewildered Augsburger. "Why should it? If
God created me in his image then I should be able to create. Why should it conflict with my beliefs?"
Augsburger's artwork can be found in collections in eight countries, including Canada, England,
Japan, India, Switzerland, New Zealand, Russia and the United States. Her works also reside in some
notable owners' private collections. Former President Jimmy Carter, the Rev. Billy Graham, Sen. Mark
Hatfield of Oregon and Rep. John Dellenbach of Oregon own Augsburger sculptures. Several colleges,
seminaries and universities also exhibit and own Augsburger's work.
Two Augsburger originals, Love Essence and Guns into Plowshares, have received worldwide
recognition.
She created two versions of Love Essence, a sculpture of Peter washing Jesus' feet. The
sculptures are located at Eastern Mennonite University, a seminary in India, Service Master's
headquarters in Chicago and Warner's Christian College in Florida.
The piece is special to Augsburger
because its message is that anyone can be a "servant." No faces are included in the sculpture;
Augsburger says, "I want it to represent anyone washing anyone's feet. Anyone can serve another. Indian
culture also includes the worship of idols, and by not including facial images on this sculpture I avoided it
being represented as an idol. It as a symbol to show how others can serve one another in love."
Guns Into Plowshares, located in the center of the Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C. and
commissioned by the city's Metropolitan Police Department, is another special piece to Augsburger. She
worked on it with her son for two and a half years.
The process was slow since Augsburger took home boxes of guns at a time, and she had to obtain permission to place the sculpture from nine federal and city commissions. Augsburger says that the sculpture's message is peace. "When we lay down our weapons, then we can have peace," she says.
When not sculpting, Augsburger spends her time helping other artists. She has led the Christian
Artists Conference in Eastern Europe for the last nine years. "I get lots of inspiration from others' work at
the conference," she says. In 2003, Augsburger led an artist conference in Budapest, Hungary, assisted
by Barbara Gautcher of Harrisonburg that included artists from 10 countries. "This conference included
both visual and musical artists," says Augsburger. "My partner in these events is Timothy Bentch, a noted
opera singer in Hungary." Bentch and Augsburger coordinate the artists' conferences, which are geared to
bring together Christian artists in Asia and Eastern Europe. InterChurch Inc. and Song for Nations
sponsor the events.
The purpose of the conferences is to inspire artists to produce their best work and to
fellowship and network with other Christian artists.
Augsburger is married to Dr. Myron S. Augsburger, former president of Eastern Mennonite
College (now university). During his 15-year tenure as president, he also served as president of the
Washington, D.C.-based Council of Christian Colleges.
With his wife's help, he established a church on
Capitol Hill during the couple's 14 years living in Washington. The couple remains close to EMU faculty,
staff and students. In 2001, the university named its new art building the Esther K. Augsburger Art Center;
and in 2003, EMU again honored Augsburger as a Distinguished Artist in Residence. The artist has also
earned two honorary doctorates -- from Grove City College and Eastern Baptist Seminary in
Pennsylvania.
Augsburger never tires of sharing her art gifts with the world. Currently she is working on an
eight-foot bronze sculpture that is planned for a park in Pennsylvania. She travels extensively with her
husband to serve as a guest lecturer and to lead classes. In the last two years, they each have taught
courses in seminaries in India, Ethiopia and Croatia. Augsburger says, "We enjoy relating to other
cultures. I feel we learn so much from them."
Here's a clip from the TV station WHSV here is Harrisonburg, Virginia in 2024 about moving the statue from EMU (Eastern Mennonite University) back to Washington, DC.
https://www.whsv.com/2024/10/22/statue-dedicated-gun-violence-awareness-leaves-emus-campus/
