The Last Dance
Mark “Pops” Craven
Bronze Sculpture
13″ H X 5″ W X 3″ D

The story of “The Last Dance” is an emotional one. I was honored to be caregiver for my wife of 42 years, Jonnie Craven, who was stricken with Multiple Sclerosis. About 6 months before she died, she asked me for one last dance and so I gently lifted her from her hospital bed and placed her feet on mine and we slowly moved to an imaginary tune by her favorite singer, Michael Buble. It was Jonnie who had inspired me to chase my teenage dream at the age of 65 by suggesting that I enroll in the UNCG BFA program…the school where I had met Jonnie 44 years before when she was a voice major. As an artist, I have tried to capture the emotion of that moment that was the last time that my beautiful Jonnie danced. She died 6 months later weighing just a scant 49 lbs but I will never forget her and I see her in my mind as that captivating beauty that could “Wow” an audience with song and dance.
Mark “Pops” Craven will become the artist that Jonnie imagined. She was my greatest cheerleader and is giving me a standing ovation from heaven.