“Make me immortal with a kiss.” — Christopher Marlowe
There are moments as an artist when creation feels less like invention and more like revelation, as if the piece already exists in another realm and you are simply the vessel pulling it through.
True Love came to me in such a way. Two forms entwined, not just in body, but in essence, suspended, weightless, eternal.
I thought of the Marlowe line: “Make me immortal with a kiss.” And I understood. Some kisses are not between lips they are between lifetimes. I wrote this poem as an invocation of that fire.
True Love
(for Carl)
Make me immortal, not with words, but with the way your hands erase the boundary of my skin.
We are already myth, two bodies forged in the same crucible of need, the same molten breath that shaped the stars.
You lift me into you as if gravity were only a rumor told by those who have never touched eternity.
Kiss me, and let death find us fused, still burning.
An Artist Journal reflection on the daydream places that feel remembered, the spiritual recognition held in a glance, and the dark feminine visual poetry I create from those inner worlds.
If you've walked past the corner of Northeast Eighth Street and Bellevue Way in Bellevue, Washington, you've likely stopped in your tracks. Endless Celebration, a soaring 51-foot cast bronze sculpture weighing nearly three tons, commands the plaza in front of Bellevue Place with a quiet, breathtaking audacity.
A Commission Born from Community
When Kemper Freeman Jr. commissioned California-based sculptor Gesso Cocteau to create a landmark work for Bellevue Place, the brief was as open as the sky the sculpture reaches toward. Cocteau's response was characteristically bold: two dancers, one figure lifting the other skyward, defying gravity with trust and joy.
"I wanted to create a subject of dialogue dedicated to bringing the community into the art," Cocteau explained in a 2005 interview. "Without human interaction, sculpture would be void, it would be empty of emotion."
Playing with Balance and Gravity
Balance is a recurring obsession in Cocteau's practice, not just physical balance, but the emotional equilibrium between hard work and a good life. Endless Celebration embodies this philosophy literally: one figure dares to hold the other aloft, declaring its space in the sky with trust.
The name itself draws from poetry. It evokes celebration, romanticism, and joy, the spirit of a community where people can work hard and enjoy the good life.
The Challenge of Scale
Creating a 51-foot public sculpture presents unique engineering and artistic challenges. Without the ability to stand the piece upright during fabrication, Cocteau had to envision the final work entirely in her mind, and ensure the large-scale execution remained faithful to the approved maquette. The sculpture had to read beautifully from many angles and distances, from a passing car to a pedestrian standing at its base.
Monumental Sculpture as Private Conversation
For Cocteau, public sculpture is never purely public. "Monumental sculpture should represent emotions beyond words," she says. "It should engage the viewer in a private conversation, each individual finding their own interpretation."
Endless Celebration has done exactly that for Bellevue since its installation. It is a landmark, yes, but more than that, it is an invitation.
Article from The Bellevue Reporter
"Endless Celebration, a 51-foot cast bronze sculpture by Gesso Cocteau, photographed at dusk at Bellevue Place, Washington"
Explore the sculpture in tabletop and midsize bronze editions at gessococteau.com #gessococteaubronze #gessococteausculpture
