Awards
A Collaboration – Success For Best of Big Taste
I was so honored to be asked to create an award for the wonderful organization of Big Brother’s Big Sisters Houston. When designer Christina Sizemore of Diliberto Photo and Design got involved it made me even more excited. You see Christina is my daughter and I love collaborating with her. Christina came up with this wonderful design for the trophey for BBBS event The Big Taste Of Houston. When BBBS said they were low on funds, the designer and myself donated a portion of our fees, but how could we create this trophy? BBBS could not afford the cost of a bronze. Well, I have had great experience with different ways of creating things both digitally and traditionally and it got me to think of alternative solutions. I talk about a lot of these solutions in my book coming out in September, 3D Technology in Fine Art and Craft: Exploring 3D Printing, Scanning, Sculpting and Milling
I have been watching and lusting after my own CarveWright machine for a while. They are a vendor I featured in my book. I contacted them and asked them if they had a woodworker that they might want to work with me on some projects. I was elated when Joe Lovchik came on board and volunteered some of his time to work on this project.
I took Christina’s design and created it in the computer using ZBrush. Joe helped with the text as ZBrush is not great with text. I sent the files to Joe and he competed the trophy in wood and stained to look bronze. He CNC milled the piece and stained it to look bronze ( computer numerically controlled) . Joe even put together a tutorial on the process. Thank you Christina Sizemore Diliberto Photo and Design, and Joe at CarveWright. It was a pleasure collaborating.
I’ll post some more photographs of the event after it happens.BBBS came to pick up the trophy today and they were elated. Can’t wait to see what others think.
The Rodeo Awards- Howdy!
Last year I was commissioned by a committee at the Houston Rodeo to create several awards. This year they came back to have them recreated. This is Howdy. It is a replica in 3D of the Rodeo logo. There are three other awards that look different. But I kind of like this one.
A New Sculpture And A Worthy Cause
I mentioned that I was creating a sculpture of a woman and child on a rock for a special music presentation by the Houston Choral society. Here is a photograph of the completed sculpture and information about the event.
http://www.houstonchoral.org/season
May 2, 2008
Concert at 7:30 p.m.
Our special 20th Anniversary event to be held in the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center. We will present a commissioned work by Adolphus Hailstork. This concert is a fund-raising event for Neighborhood Centers Inc., a private, nonprofit agency that provides social services to hundreds of thousands of Houston’s low-income children, families and senior citizens.
There Are Always Such Quick Deadlines On Awards
When ever I create an award there are always such quick deadlines! I have been working on the Hands Across Houston Award every chance I get. Here is what it is looking like. To create an award it must first be sculpted, the more people the more time and money. Then a mold must be made and it has to be cast. Plates will be created and put in where the white paper is. All steps take time!
A New Award- Hands Across Houston
I am creating a new sculpture for the Houston Choral Society for their special 20th Anniversary event to be held in the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center. They will present a commissioned work by Adolphus Hailstork. This concert is a fund-raising event for Neighborhood Centers Inc., a private, nonprofit agency that provides social services to hundreds of thousands of Houston’s low-income children, families and senior citizens.
Here is some information about the event on the Neighborhood centers web site.
Hands Across Houston
Wortham Center
5/2/2008
Please join us on the evening of Friday, May 2 at 7:30pm in the Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater for the Houston Choral Society’s world premiere of “Set Me on a Rock – Songs of Sanctuary from the Great Flood,” a commissioned work by noted composer Dr. Adolphus Hailstork. This composition is the centerpiece of a concert entitled “Hands Across Houston,” which commemorates Houston’s courageous response to our Gulf Coast neighbors in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
This concert celebrates the Houston Choral Society’s 20th anniversary, and all proceeds will benefit Neighborhood Centers Inc. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children, students and senior citizens. Sponsorship packages are also available. Please e-mail us for more information on how you can be a part of this extraordinary event.
The sculpture depicts a woman and child on a rock. The photograph shows the roughed in version that I sent the client. They enlarged the requested that the sculpture should be enlarged to 7′
Mcinvale, Mutombo, Demontrond And Montgomery Receive The Samaritan Award That I Have Sculpted
The Samaritan award that I have sculpted is received by a few honorees each year. These people are honored for their “good Samaritan work” that they are a part of. I just received these photographs of this years honorees. You can read more about this wonderful center by visiting their website at www.samaritanhouston.org. It is great to be a part of this project.
Event Chairpersons Susan & Dick Hansen
Special Guests Carole & Ronald Krist
Honoree Dikembe Mutombo (third photograph)
Honoree George DeMontrond, III ( fourth photograph)
Honoree Lee Hage Jamail ( first photograph on left)
Honoree Jim MacIngvale ( first photograph on left)
John Montgomery ( first photograph on right, holding the award)
Looking at their previous honorees list It appears that Sylvan had received his award in 1998. ( I mentioned the story about this award and Sylvan in a previous post) It is hard to believe it was that long ago.
A Wonderful Blessing A Great Story
I have finally finished the God’s Word new website, complete with shopping cart. It has been a massive undertaking. I hope it works, as no orders have been placed as of yet,
and then I got this phone call…
Before I tell you about the call I must say that The God’s Word gift series holds a special place in my life. I wanted the sculptures to be blessed, both in the giving and the receiving. I prayed over the years that people would see them and not only like them but because they come with a card and letter they would see the ministry behind them.
The phone call…
A woman called today telling me that she had seen the Samaritan Award ( shown above) that I had done for the Samaritan Center. This is an award that I designed for them years ago and they give away each year. She wanted to know if she could buy one.
I told her that I could not do so without the permission of the Samaritan Center. I have only done that once before, for Sylvan Rodriguez who requested one and received permission. Sylvan was a wonderful man and news anchor here in Houston. He passed away of pancreatic cancer just shortly after receiving the sculpture.
The woman asked if I had any other sculptures with a spiritual meaning and the feeling of the Samaritan. I directed her to The God’s Word gift series and the two of us browsed through the cards and letters of each piece. She told me a story about how her husband’s brother had been on the streets for years and no matter what the tried they could not help him. Another family befriended him and took him in. He lived with them for 14 years. This past week the consequences of street life caught up with him and his body, worn, shut down. He was 49 when he died. They were looking for the “perfect” gift to give the family. I was so blessed that they felt this type of ministry in my artwork. when she say the God’s Word Sculpture “the bad I do” she new that it was perfect! I don’t have a video on this piece yet, but you can read the message behind it on the God’s Word website
This is what I prayed for. That people would utilize this series for a ministry to others. That it would bless in the giving and the receiving.
One more thing…
turns out Sylvan had purchased that Samaritan sculpture for this woman’s husband. Knowing this I can only imagine the type of person her husband is, he must be a warm and wonderful man. They didn’t know the trouble Sylvan had gone through to get the piece. It is one of their cherished possessions.
The entire story gave me confidence to keep pushing with the God’s Word series. I have worked 3 months so far on the back end of that new endeavor. The call gave me a little more incentive.
Newsboy Goes to Canada!
The best part of the newsboy sculpture is that it consistently becomes an added part of the celebration of history. The Newsgroup in Canada purchased the sculpture to honor those involved in the celebration of the 100th birthday. Here is the copy that they sent, just in case anyone else is interested in the history.
______________________________________________________________________________
Monday is our 100th Birthday!
The story of the O’Brien family is a great one, as the first pioneer in our business in Canada.
E.H. O’Brien was born in 1886, and left school in Grade 6 to support his family.
Ed O’Brien started his business on the 26th of November, 1907, with the Toronto Daily Star as a part time operation with ten dealers. At the same time, he was working in a cigar factory making cigars. The business resided in a small office on King Street East in Hamilton, with about 150 square feet of floor space which contained a desk and a telephone. Deliveries were made on a child’s wagon.
In 1909 the business had grown to the point that Ed went into it on a full time basis. He rented a horse and bought a wagon for deliveries. The “Hearst” franchise was acquired at this time. In 1914, the “Curtis” franchise was acquired, and in 1916 the first truck was purchased at a cost of about $600.
By 1918 the business had grown with acquisitions of Muncey, Macleans, Consolidated Press and others. In 1921 Ed purchased the F.J. Roy News Company. At this point, Ed was an earlier consolidator, as all independent franchises in existence at that time were acquired.
In 1923, publishers supplied E.H. O’Brien for the Brantford, Ontario market as the former operator had gone out of business. A new company was formed, General News and Novelty Company, which supplied over 150 dealers in Western Ontario.
In 1934, Ed started the National News Company in Ottawa, Ontario, and subsequently purchased the other independent news companies in Ottawa.
Close behind E.H. O’Brien, was H.H. Marshall, who founded a newspaper and magazine distribution business in Halifax in 1908. Harry Marshall was born in 1883 and started his career as a newspaper boy. By the turn of the century Harry had several routes in Halifax, and had opened a men’s apparel store, along with his newspaper business in 1906.
As they say, “The Rest is History!”
Today we are proud to continue in the traditions of E.H. O’Brien, H.H. Marshall and family to supply over 45,000 customers in Canada and the United States. We continue to serve our fine publishers of magazines and books, delivering knowledge daily to millions of Canadians and Americans.
Another Order For a Small” Newsboy
Some lucky newspaper publisher will be getting a copy of the small bronze newsboy as a gift. This sculpture is a limited edition of 100 and the cost is $1,350 plus shipping. 
