Sculptor Information
Dennis Baker ("Star Formation")
The City of Sculpture's first
artist-in-residence is Dennis C. Baker, who is working at
Hamilton Scrap Processors each weekend. Dennis grew up in Northern Indiana and attended Manchester College. He graduated with a
degree in biology and biochemistry. During college years, he took classes in art, specifically painting. In 1979, Dennis moved to
Cincinnati where he works for a cardiovascular device company, Medtronic, Inc. Now a consultant for them, Dennis spends his time
in operating rooms. "I have always enjoyed working with my hands as a stress reliever." Dennis says. " Over the years I constantly
tried new things - one of which was welding, which I absolutely fell in love with." Dennis graduated in 1996 from a vocational school's
welding class and has taken several advanced courses since on welding, painting, and applying gold leaf & patina's to his artwork.
He considers himself to essentially be self-taught and is proud of his development.
e-mail
Fred X. Brownstein ("Shared Vision")
Mississippi native, Fred X. Brownstein, received a bachelor of fine arts degree at the San Francisco Art Institute following four
years at Tulane University. He then studied for a ten-year period in Italy, first apprenticed in the late 1970's as a marble sculptor
with the Pasquine Studio in Querceta, Italy. Beginning in 1980, he studied the figure with Professor Nerina Simi in Florence.
He has been an artist-in-residence at Brookhaven College, The Taft School, and Karolyi Foundation in France. Brownstein is a guest
lecturer at Smith College and the Chesterwood Museum in Stockbridge, MA. He has received numerous awards, and his work has been
exhibited widely in the United States in public and private collections including the Museum of Southern Jewish Experience and the
University of Connecticut.
Rosalind Cook ("Legacy of Literature", "Someday" & "Come Unto Me")
Rosalind Cook's life size and monumental works can be seen across the country in places such as Ronald McDonald Houses, churches,
libraries and hospitals. Perhaps her best-known monument depicts Christ with the children of the world at the World Vision Headquarters
in Washington. Her work has been exhibited in shows in New York, at the Gilcrease Museum, Albuquerque Museum, Palm Desert,
Scottsdale, Jackson Hole and in select gallery shows throughout the United States and at the Sculpture in the Park show in Loveland,
Colorado. Rosalind Cook attributes consistent growth to study and to teaching sculpture classes. She teaches at the Loveland
Academy of Art, Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, the Fechin Institute in Taos, and Scottsdale Artists' School in Arizona. Rosalind's
sculptures have been shown in Southwest Art, Art and Antiques, Oklahoma Today, Virtue, and Tulsa People magazines.
http://www.rosalindcook.com/
George Danhires ("Firefighter Memorial")
George Danhires of Kent, Ohio is both a sculptor and oil-based artist. His sculptures have been commissioned by numerous public and
private institutions and are on display in four states. Much of his engaging works of art symbolize and pay tribute to the vitality
of people and highlight facets of community life. Other works of Danhires include "Education", "Claudia in Striped Dress", and the
bronze figure "James Bradley", who as both a slave and free man symbolizes the Underground Railroad. The latter figure is seated
on an actual park bench overlooking the Ohio River.
Jane DeDecker ("Snapshot")
Family is the focus of Jane DeDecker's life and art. Childhood innocence is DeDecker's bread and butter theme. A Loveland, Colorado
artist, her portfolio typically includes subjects such as a group of kids playing on monkey bars, two boys pushing off on a bike, or
a trio of girls huddled under an umbrella. DeDecker's style also leaves room for interpretation. "The finished piece isn't the end,"
she says. "The sculpture lives beyond me, my studio and the foundry. I want viewers to see themselves and their lives in my
sculpture". Jane DeDecker's commissions include "Over There" for President George Bush and the President's Committee for the
Handicapped and "Albert Gallatin" for the U.S. National Park Service. She sculpts in monumental as well as miniature scale.
http://dedeckersculpture.com/
Stuart Fink ("Community")
Stuart Fink is a resident of Cincinnati and a consultant to the DAAP Galleries and the University of Cincinnati. Fink designed
"Community" at Miami University Hamilton to be interactive as benches and decorative with plantings of ornamental grasses and
perennials.
Jarrett Hawkins ("Pioneer Family" & "No Child Left Behind")
Jarrett Hawkins lives and works in Deer Park, Ohio. He received his sculpture education at Miami University. Jarrett has supported
himself both as a sculptor and as a furniture and cabinetmaker. He has executed a variety of public and private commissions, both
figurative and abstract.
http://hawkinsandhawkins.biz/
Daryl Johns ("Keeper of the Garden")
Johns grew up in rural Ohio and developed an early interest in making things with his hands. Johns explains, “At age thirteen,
I completed my first carving of a pig with a very dull pocketknife and a piece of buckeye. Over the years, I gained experience by
endlessly experimenting with many types of wood and subject matter. As an artist, I am largely self-taught.” Carving stone has also
been a natural curiosity for him. Using Indiana limestone, his indoor and outdoor sculptures are both large and small-scale, and
include personalized commissions. Johns’ subject matter ranges from people and animals to abstract creations and organic garden designs.
Sculptures by Johns are in private collections from coast to coast, in addition to three pieces in Wales . His first piece in a public
setting has been installed in “The City of Sculpture” – Hamilton , Ohio .
Seward Johnson ("Spring" and "First Ride")
In 1968, after a lifetime as a painter, J. Seward Johnson, Jr., turned his talents to the medium of sculpture. Since then, more than 200
of Johnson's life-size cast bronze figures have been featured in private collections in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia, as
well as prominent places in the public realm. Each of his sculptures is entirely bronze. The realism of the textures and details is
the hallmark of Johnson's art, achieved with hours of intense labor. Seward Johnson has been developing unique chemistry for the colors
of his sculptures for years. His sculptures have been highlighted in Architectural Digest, New Yorker Magazine, The New York Times,
The Boston Globe, Life Magazine, and others.
http://www.sewardjohnson.com/
Robert McCloskey ("Municipal Building Bas-Relief Sculpture Carvings")
Robert McCloskey, a native of Hamilton, Ohio, created the bas-relief images found on the former Hamilton Municipal Building on High
Street. After graduating from Hamilton High School in 1932, McCloskey attended Boston's Vesper George Art School and New York's National
Academy of Design. McCloskey returned to Hamilton, began drawing and painting everyday things around him, and produced his first
children's book, Lentil. McCloskey won the Caldicott Medal twice, in 1958 for Time of Wonder and in 1942 for Make Way for Ducklings.
Three of his books have also been honored by the American Library Association as Caldicott Honor Books. Although he spent most of his
adult life elsewhere, he is still known as one of Hamilton's favorite sons. In the six stories in Homer Price, McCloskey looks back
with humor and affection at his Hamilton childhood.
Andrea Myklebust and Stanton G. Sears ("Hamilton Gateway" & "Butler County Peace Memorial")
Andrea Myklebust and Stanton Gray Sears were the design team chosen to execute a gateway structure and monumental lantern for the new
Government Services Center. Completed in summer of 2000, it was at the dedication of "Hamilton Gateway" that Governor Bob Taft signed
a proclamation designating Hamilton as the “City of Sculpture”. Other public and civic artwork of Myklebust and Sears include the
sculptural seating area for the Florida State Department of Health, a 63-foot sculptural tower for the 25-foot North Hennepin Community
College Carillon, and the Minnesota Vietnam Veterans Memorial in St. Paul Minnesota. "It is our strong belief that the best civic artwork
forges connections between people and their physical environment."
http://www.myklebust-sears.com/index.html
Nancy Schon ("Lentil")
Nancy Schon’s commissioned work found in Boston, MA include Friends of the Public Garden - "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture, the
"Gateway to Beacon Hill", and "Tortoise and Hare” at Copley Square. In 1991, Mrs. Barbara Bush gave Mrs. Raisa Gorbachev a copy of the
"Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture placed in Novodevichy Park, Moscow on behalf of 'the children of the U.S.A. to the children of the
USSR'. Awards and recognitions include the Governor's Council on Arts and Humanities (MA), Governor's Task Force on Accessibility of the
Arts, Honorary Chair - Copley Society, and many others. According to Ms. Schon, "When I first started doing Public Art, I noticed that
people from ages 2 to 92 look at sculptures in parks rather casually, and then go on their way. One day, I saw a sculpture of a child
with a cat. The child was not noticed, but the cat was patted, hugged, and smiled at. This gave me a profound insight. I decided,
from that event, that I wanted my sculpture to be interactive and touched."
http://www.schon.com/
Dennis Sohocki ("Double Dancer")
Dennis Sohocki has created and installed numerous monuments ranging in height from 6 to 20 feet. He has over 25 years of sculptural
experience in Bronze, Stainless Steel, Marble and Hardwood. Prestigious national and international shows that have invited him to exhibit
include The National Academy of Design, Marmol Sol VI International Sculpture Symposium, North American Sculpture Exhibition, both the
Kennedy and Denver Centers for the Performing Arts, the Cleveland Art Museum, and more. His sculptures are in numerous public and
private collections such as General Motors, Michigan Bell, Microsoft, and many others. Dennis has lectured on and taught sculpture in the
United States as well as abroad. He is a craftsman as well as an artist who prides himself in creating the highest quality sculptures
possible.
Edgar Tafur ("Space Tower")
Edgar Tafur, a former Hamilton resident, created "Space Tower" for the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. It was purchased by Hamilton
physician Dr. Richard Glins in 1980 and installed in the Peter R. Rentschler Park on the west bank of the Great Miami River near the
High-Main Street Bridge. The bicentennial Gift to the City of Hamilton from Historic Hamilton, Inc. in 1991 was the restoration of
"Symmes Monument", which was completed by Mr. Tafur. Additionally, Tafur was commissioned for a piece at the Lewis Center Chapel in
Cincinnati.
Rudolph F. Thiem ("Victory, the Jewel of the Soul" aka Billy Yank)
Rudolph Thiem, born in 1859, studied sculpture making in Berlin, Germany before immigrating to Hamilton in 1887. Thiem’s work at the Estate Stove Company in Hamilton included the art that adorned the nationally recognized Estate stoves. His design for "Victory", a 3,500 pound, 14 foot, bronze statue of a young Civil War soldier, was selected in a national competition in 1906. Details on the statue are so exact that coat buttons on the bronze soldier include the letters USA. Mr. Thiem modeled the soldier's face after his own. The statue is waving his cap victoriously in the air while standing on an exploded shell.
Alfred Tibor (Fort Hamilton Hospital)
Mr. Alfred Tibor of Columbus was chosen as the artist for a special piece of artwork in honor of the hospital’s 75th anniversary because
his design truly matched Fort Hamilton’s premise that everyone at Fort Hamilton, from the physicians to the custodians, is working
to provide our families with the best care available, their “dedication and knowledge celebrate life”. Mr. Tibor was born in Konyar,
Hungary in 1920. He was subjected to the brutality of the Nazi regime, enslaved by the Germans and eventually taken prisoner by the
Russians. Alfred survived the inhumanity he experienced through his strong will and determination. After World War II Alfred returned
to Budapest. In 1957, Alfred, his wife and two small children arrived penniless but free in the United States. Eventually, Mr. Tibor
came to Columbus, Ohio. In 1974 he began doing sculptures in a variety of materials determined to show man’s humanity through his art.
http://www.alfredtibor.net/
This beautiful, life sized, bronze sculpture by Alfred Tibor was installed near the front entrance to Fort Hamilton Hospital.
Commemorative bricks are available to honor or remember loved ones. For more information you can contact the Fort Hamilton Healthcare
Foundation @ 513-785-4787.
L'Deane Trueblood ("Hanna")
Born in Norman Okalahoma, L'Deane Trueblood resides in St. George Utah among the most spectacular redrock country in the southwest.
Proud mother and grandmother, she has lived and traveled across the United States as well as in Europe and the Middle East. Her
sculptures and paintings are found in public and private collections throughout the United States and internationally. Working mostly
with children as subjects, she has created a series of highly sought-after life-size bronzes. The poses are subtle, the motion
implied, understated. With just a turn of a shoulder or the graceful gesture of a hand, L'Deane masterfully conveys a dynamism that
few modern sculptors can match. Recently, she has also been commissioned to produce several larger-than-life monuments which now
stand in prominent public spaces in several states.
http://www.truebloodstudios.com/
Lyman Whitaker ("Wind Forest")
Lyman Whitaker is a native of Utah. He received his Bachelor degree in sculpture from the University of Utah where he studied
classical and contemporary sculpture. Lyman has always kept art as a primary focus. To support the pursuit of his art in the early
days, he has been a laborer, a carpenter, a mechanic, a student, a teacher, a traveler, and a designer. His diverse style is evident
in his art. He works with a multitude of materials and processes and enjoys making connections through his art. His current focus
involves wind sculptures, but his larger body of work is varied and ranges from traditional bronzes to fabricated metal sculptures to
fountains. Lyman's working knowledge of building and mechanical processes is evident in his art.
http://www.envisiongallery.net/artist/whitaker/wl-401.html
Kristen Visbal ("The American Cape")
Visbal is a graduate of the prestigious Lost Wax Casting apprentice program at the Johnson Atelier art casting foundry in Mercerville,
NJ, who established a private modeling studio on a vineyard in Lewes, DE six years ago. The artist’s other public works include a
life-size sculpture of Olympic gold medallist Bob Hayes running with the 1964 Japanese torch, the 10-foot Sea Express composition of a
boy riding a dolphin on a wave, both in parks in Florida, and Girl Chasing Butterflies currently on site at the Merrill Lynch corporate
headquarters in Plainsboro, NJ. Visbal is an active member of the National Sculpture Society, The Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Arts
Club and the Pen and Brush Club, all in New York City and is a regular participant in the annual Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture Park
Curator's Auction, the oldest and largest sculpture park in America.
http://visbalsculpture.com/
Miles Metzger ("When it Rains It Pours")
Mr. Miles Metzger’s career began in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he studied sculpture. There he learned the Spanish language
and received acclamations for his talent. After returning to the United States, Metzger pioneered the mining and use of soapstone upon
discovering large deposits of carving quality Steatite in the California Sierra Nevada Mountain range in 1973. Metzger began showing
his sculpture at fine art galleries in mid 1974. In 1989, Metzger opened a 7,000 sq. foot studio and showroom in Angels Camp,
California. Today Metzger sculpts in stone, bronze, wood, clay, steel, and synthetics. He also contracts the reproduction of his
designs through the use of molds and multi-carvers in China, Mexico, and Brazil. He has trained many carvers in past years; some of
these craftsmen now have successful careers in sculpture. Metzger’s studio and gallery, located in St. Helena, California, opened in
2000.
http://www.milesmetzger.com/
Mallory Feltz ("Complexity")
Mallory Feltz, a graduating art student at the University of Cincinnati, has donated a cast bronze piece to be the next installation
for the City of Sculpture. Originally from Dayton, Feltz moved to Cincinnati to attend UC’s DAAP (Design, Architecture, Art and
Planning) program. She is now looking at grad schools and is considering Miami University. Mallory states: “I was always creating art
for as long as I can remember. Building, painting, drawing, dancing, anything creative was ‘my cup o’ tea.’ Why sculpture:
“Really it’s my love of actively creating something tangible. I feel most comfortable, and yet still challenged, when I am up, running
around, building and moving. All I know is that art is an extension of my life and sculpture is an extension of my body.”
THE SCULPTORS OF PYRAMID HILL SCULPTURE PARK & MUSEUM