Aletha Rector (Born 1936) American, Abstract Multi-Part Bird Clay Sculpture. A round white stone base, two oversized webbed feet, a chubby penguin-like body with a black glazed front and a white crackular back, topped off with a bouquet of thin, curled pieces like flowers sprouting from its head. Whimsical yet terrifying, and absolutely unique, like all of the self-taught artist's pieces. Signed at the base of the main body on the back. 

Size: 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 18 in. 

Aletha Michels Rector was born on May 15th, 1936. She was a homemaker, raising a family and eventually moving with her husband Glenn to Florida in the late 1970s. Here she discovered a love of art, particularly sculpture, and began hand-crafting and firing her own unique creations at their home in Sarasota. In the mid 80s they moved to Gaineseville for work, before Glenn retired in 1993 and they settled in Melbourne, where she created her own business, Rector Sculpture. Completely self-taught, her works have become highly sought after by collectors over the past twenty years, with the largest single collection from the estate of philanthropist Nancy Dittmeier auctioned off in 2022 to raise funds for the Florida Wildlife Hospital. Her newest company, Art Affirmative, continues to distribute her works, which can be found in galleries and private and public collections up and down Florida’s West Coast.