MANKATO — Karen Crain’s inspiration for her “Circle of Friends” bronze sculpture was her three children, now adults, and the time she spent reading with them.

The gangly pre-teen girl lounging inside a circle, reading a book, is based on her daughter.

“She was always reading. When I needed a model, I’d ask her and she’d always say, ‘I will if I can read,’ ” said Crain as she stood by her artwork early Saturday morning, waiting for crews to weld her piece to its foundation.

The day kicked off the second annual CityArt Walking Sculpture tour with new pieces installed in downtown Mankato and North Mankato.

Crain, of Littleton, Colo., had a piece in last year’s tour — “Spirit of Energy” — which was purchased by the North Mankato Port Authority and remains in North Mankato.

Artist Felix Egharevba Ehiozumamwen of Benin, Nigeria, was studying his sculpture from different angles after it was installed in front of the new US Bank building.

The piece, “Oracle,” is of a female head and represents the virgin oracle who sees the past, present and future. But the artist said the concept of an oracle is much broader in Nigeria.

 “The oracle is ourselves, the Internet can be an oracle, anyone can be. If you are troubled and don’t know what to do, you find an oracle — whatever makes you think harder and think differently,” he said.

Unlike many artists, he does not make copies of any of his work. “It makes me work harder. When I do a piece, I have to sit and really think of what I want to do. There will only be one in the world. That’s why it is more expensive,” he said of the piece being offered for sale at $12,000.

On Belgrade Avenue in North Mankato, artist David Hyduke had a much shorter trip to town, coming from his home and studio in Kasota. His “Tiny Dancer” bronze sits in front of Frandsen Bank.

Hyduke, 62, has been sculpting since his mid-20s after being mentored by the late Paul Granlund, artist-in-residence at Gustavus Adolphus College. “I always hung out with artist types when I was young. When I ran into Paul, I said, ‘This is cool, this is what I want to do.’ ”    

Noelle Lawton, the new CityArt coordinator, said the success of the initial year of the tour prompted an even bigger effort this year.

“There are nine more sculptures this year, three more in North Mankato and six more in Mankato,” Lawton said. “We’re making the route denser, not longer. We want to keep it walkable for people.”

Even before all the sculptures were secured to their bases, people with cameras in hand were touring the new pieces.

The 34 sculptures come from artists from 18 states as well as from Nigeria, England and Canada. There are also sculptures from area artists on display.

Photos of the new sculptures can be seen at www.mankatofreepress.com.

Like last year, people can pick up ballots at kiosks on the route and vote for their favorite sculpture. The People’s Choice winning sculpture will be purchased by the City Center Partnership and kept on permanent display.

Last year’s winning sculpture was “Reading Magic.” Five other sculptures on display last year were also purchased by individuals or local businesses.

Several new elements are being added to this year’s tour.

“The first couple of months of the tour we’ll have a photo contest,” Lawton said.

“We’re also adding a kids’ component with a scavenger hunt. They can pick up a pamphlet and fill it out and get free admission to the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota or the Blue Earth County Historical Society.”

There will also be self-guided audio tours available by July. People can download the tour from the website (www.CityArtMankato.com) or use a smart phone to scan labels on the sculpture bases.   

Lyle and Kay Jacobson also donated money to add and maintain hanging flower baskets along the route.

The CityArt tour is funded by private donations through the City Center Partnership and by grants through the Minnesota Legacy Fund. Vetter Stone, Jones Metal and Kato Moving and Storage are major donors for the event.

The chairperson of the sculpture tour is Tami Paulsen. The sculptures were chosen by a committee made up of a coalition of Midwest cities that have sculpture tours and who rotate some of the sculptures from city to city each year. Lawton said the local group also solicited entries from area sculptors.

While last year’s event was a hit, with some 10,000 ballots cast, the tour was marred by a few cases of vandalism, including one statue that was stolen and later recovered and one sculpture that had a piece broken off (the piece was also recovered later and the sculpture was repaired).

Although Lawton said there is no way to completely protect public artwork, the committee did pay more attention to the types of pieces selected for this year’s tour.

“We probably considered that more in our selection process. If sculptures had small pieces that could be ripped off, we shied away from that. We have more larger pieces this year.”