She was born in Hilo, Hawaii, the daughter of missionaries Viola and Benjamin Harry Sharpless, and grew up in Santa Ana, California.

"[12][13] For this piece, Sharpless used the newly popular poured concrete material and technique commonly called "liquid stone.

"[12] The sculpture is mounted on a four-sided pedestal faced with bas reliefs of the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles harbor, the San Gabriel mountains, and the Los Angeles Central Library.

[12] After decades of deterioration it was restored and re-installed in 1999 by the City of Los Angeles.

[12][10] Sharpless also made a full-length statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo for the patio of the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California.