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I was delighted to be with John Turner and his family the day that city council of Frisco, Texas declared John Turner day. It appears, that John is continuously being honored for his accomplishments and contributions. 

 What do I know of John?

 He does not sit still. He told me repeatedly about the 80,000 miles he has taken on his journey with his dogs since 1953.

 How many dogs?

 Here is a list of John’s Seeing Eye dogs and the date he met his dogs:
1. Villa November 21,1953
2. Inky February 15, 1964
3. Pepper May 1, 1977
4. Gordy April 7, 1979
5. Steffie January 4,1989
6. Corinne September 20,1993
7. Robyn March 29, 2003
8. Eben May 23, 2014

 We are honoring each of these dogs by putting their names and footprints that are left in the sidewalk as John walks on. These dogs gave John his freedom.

 The sculpture will be of John at a quick pace. He is on the go. These dogs gave him that freedom. All of his guide dogs were trained at The Seeing Eye, Inc. in Morristown, NJ.

Their web site is www.SeeingEye.org. I have asked The Seeing Eye Inc for more information on their dogs and facility, perhaps they will give us some guest blog “dog” posts. It sure will help me. It will add more passion to the piece. I can’t help but wonder, what does the dog look like who is aware and walking and doing their job. Are their ears perked, tail high or low? I suppose each dog is different, but knowing dogs I would assume that a seeing eye dog has a certain personality. I can’t wait to hear more about it from the SeeingEye. This will help me with the sculpture.

 In an interview today someone asked me how I capture the essence of someone.

That is exactly what I am after. I don’t just want a likeness I want the spirit of the person. Often when creating a sculpture I don’t get to meet my subject. In this case I did get to meet John. I could see his spirit.  John Turner has a tremendous amount of spirit.

The essence comes from a few other places. The first is through the loved ones that know the person. That is why I ask you to send me your stories, thoughts and ways you have been touched by John Turner.

I received some photographs today. I’m thrilled to have them. The pose with John, his dog and his brief case is very similar to the pose I had in mind. I can’t wait to get started.

I have been absolutely overwhelmed with the latest commission, of a monumental sculpture of Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hatter Tea Party. It has received a great deal of attention in the media.  We are still not done, but I’m taking time to start on the sculpture of John Tuner.  Can’t wait to share about John. If you are interested in this Alice in Wonderland Project for Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire, Texas, just outside of Houston, follow along on the Finding Alice Sculpture Facebook page.  

This is a recent segment from PBS on my artwork.

 I don’t always have the luxury of measuring and taking photographs of my clients. Often the photographs are provided by a client and the subject matter is not available. I took some measurements of Eben and John and spent a few minutes in the drizzle and cold to try and get some action shots.  When ever I’m doing this and think, “that is enough photographs, ” I remember that I can never have too many photographs.  Linda, John’s wife, will be sending me some more photographs of John at a different age as we have decided to sculpt John at a younger age.  

While taking measurements of Eben he decided to became a bit more intimate than I would have liked and gave me a very wet kiss. I felt like Lucy from Charlie Brown and the expression in this video pretty much sums it up.  

After arriving in Dallas, John and Linda took me to their home.  I love visiting a subjects home. I have always said, “you really don’t know someone until you run your finger along their bookshelves.”

This type of interaction though brief is important. While trying not to be intrusive and asking permission to take photographs I try to absorb a life time of memories.   I often wish I could be alone in these spaces to run my finger along the shelves and envision a past.  These pictures remind me of another commission of a former professor at my undergraduate college in Vermont and visiting Richard Hathaway’s home, or spending time in his office.  

The Texas sky streaked into watercolor purples and the wind bit through my poncho as we explored the area where the sculpture celebrating a man, a journey and possibilities would be placed.  The Heritage center and the Heritage Museum is located at 6455 Page Street Frisco, Texas 75034.  

“The mission of the Frisco Heritage Museum is to collect, preserve, study, interpret, exhibit, and stimulate appreciation for and knowledge of the history and culture of Frisco, Texas and the North Texas region to all the people of the region and to the visitors attracted to the area”

I knew I had to take time away from Wonderland, and visit Shirley and David. I looked forward to the opportunity of meeting John Turner. A date was set, and on January 5^th, I made a quick trip from my Houston, studio to fly to Dallas and then drive over to Frisco, Texas to see sculpture was to be placed.

GETTING TO KNOW A SUBJECT

To meet a subject in person is so very important and really a luxury in my creative journey. I work on many different types of projects. People are my favorite thing to sculpt, along with dogs and especially children. Though, over the last few years, more people have been calling me “the cat lady” after creating the panther for Prairie View A & M and the Grambling tiger for Grambling State University, Louisiana. But many of my subjects I never meet. This is either because they are far away or they are deceased.  This is a wonderful treat to be able to meet John.

 John and his wife Linda met me at the airport. To my surprise they walked up to me inside the airport  Now, for many people that may not seem like anything special, but for me it was a treat. I have traveled often and my hometown is not Houston, though I have lived here over 35 years. When I would fly home in years gone by, I remember how people could greet you at the gate. I remember my mom waiting anxiously to greet me with my baby girl, or my sister and brother waiting for hugs. It occurred to me, that over the years, with the extra security and people not going down to the gate, that things have gotten very lax and when traveling and visiting used to be a treat, the process has become impersonal.  Many times in my travels, I find myself taking taxis, or maybe waiting at the curb for family to drive by, open their door and I jump in before some guy in a yellow vest shouts at us and waves us off. So seeing these friendly faces greet me with a hug, meant more to me than I even realized at the time.  It was the perfect way to start this adventure.

In June of 2015 Shirley and David Griffin contacted me about creating a possible commission of John Turner. There are always many things to figure out at the beginning of a commission. What size sculpture does the client envision? What is the vision of the possible client and then, once these are decided, it is important to get prices from my foundry so all of the costs are known. Meanwhile, my client searches for the proper spot to place this tribute and, if I am not installing the sculpture then they will need to figure out who will install the sculpture. Needless to say, there are lots of details to figure out before things are settled, before I can think about sculpting.

|While Shirley and David where working on these details, I was signing one of the biggest commission of my career, a monumental sculpture of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party for Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire, Texas. ( You can follow along with this job on the Finding Alice Sculpture Facebook Page. ) Though this sculpture is not as large as the Grambling Tiger sculpture at 15’ tall, it is the largest in scope as it contains an 8’ mad hatter, Alice and March  Still, Shirley said she knew I was the one to create this sculpture. She felt we clicked, and when all of the other details were confirmed, we signed a contract. It was a lovely Christmas gift to get the contract the day before Christmas. I’m delighted that this contract holds a place in our studio schedule and we are all excited about starting the project. 

Hare, along with a 10 foot table, and if that were not enough to sculpt, there is a plaque and 150 elements that I am trying to hide in the scene. I knew this job would take a big chunk out of my schedule for the 2016.