Milking Time Celebrates the History of Dairy Valley

Last night the City of Cerritos' council members approved the art selection committee's recommendation to proceed with our proposal "Milking Time" by Jane DeDecker.  The sculpture will be enlarged to 110% life-size be DeDecker, cast in bronze, and placed in Cerritos, California in Summer of 2025 at a site to be determined.

​To help celebrate the history of Dairy Valley (now Cerritos), "Milking Time" by Jane DeDecker  pays tribute to the area dairy farmers.

On One Side:
A farmer sits on a stool to milk a grazing cow as a young girl holds out a bowl to get some milk for her cat that is rubbing against her leg, probably purring. 

The Other Side:
A young boy holds a feed bag and sprinkles out feed to the dairy cow. The feedbag can include a logo from Dairy Valley to make the piece tie in even future to Cerritos' history.

​Inspiration for the sculpture "Milking Time" was drawn both by the history of Cerritos/Dairy Valley as well as the artist's experience and her family roots in Iowa.

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We wished to honor the dairy farmers of Dairy Valley in their fortitude and family values, they established a space for their community to grow and prosper for generations. The bronze sculpture depicts a farmer's family taking on the task of milking one of their cows. The figures are sculpted in a manner that allows the viewer to insert their history and narrative to the piece. 

The scene on one side of the cow shows a man, (could be a farm hand, or a father or grandfather) he is doing the actual milking but his attention is drawn to a young girl (daughter or granddaughter) who has come in with a bowl to see if she can get some fresh milk for the cat that is rubbing at her heels. 

On the other side of the cow, a young person, (could be a field hand, or son/grandson) is seen spreading grain or pelleted feed from a bag for the cow to eat while being milked to keep her calm and happy during the process.

Together the chore gets accomplished until the next milking later in the day.

The Cat will be finished in black and white with pink nose.
The Cow will be finished in black and white with pink udders.
The three figures, stool, bucket and feed bag will be finished in a traditional brown.