For the 2nd straight year, we were guests of the Philadelphia Phillies on the occasion of Jackie Robinson Day, April 15, 2012. The statue is a one-of-a-kind, hand-carved, solid-wood statue, depicting Robinson in a 1955 home Dodger uniform. Everything you see on that statue is wood; the shoes, shoelaces, hat, skin, uniform: everything. Fans enjoyed taking photos with it all game long. It was a great experience and I want to thank the Phillies, particularly Kenny Johnson and Deb Rinaldi, for their work in making this come off so easily.
Jackie’s next stop is scheduled to be the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City, MO, in time for this Summer’s All-Star game, which is in KC this year.
The Phillies crew gets some close ups of Jackie right off the bat.
The boys eat lunch behind the sign. It’s a long drive down for them and they need some fuel.
The boys each got a Phillie Phanatic from the guys at the Phillies. It was a very generous gift for them and they loved them! All day, they were our constant companions.
Here’s Gregg Murphy of the Phillies going over our in-game spot in the 5th inning. They could not get a camera to show the statue live, so they used the shots they had gotten earlier and we did the spot from the standing room section behind the left field foul pole. Murphy was very nice and put me at ease and the spot came off nice and relaxed.
The boys were tired but rallied in the suite. We only had an inning or two up there, because we have to be with the statue mostly, but we did get up there. The two gentlemen in the background are the fellows who played for the Phildelphia Stars in the early 1950′s. They signed the ball we got last year and we were glad to see them again. The Tuskegee Airmen were in a different suite and I got over there in time to speak to a few of them and that was a real nice treat. They are great guys and the country should be aware of their sacrifices under trying conditions.
The boys pose with their Phanatics.
The boys loved the doughnut car and even got some freebies.
All in all, it was a wonderful day. Both boys were old enough to go and really enjoyed it. The Phillies’ staff was just great as always and we hit all of our marks during the day. Many, many people said very nice things about the statue and it’s always great to get the statue out in front of baseball fans and hear their comments. It makes all the hours spent covered with sawdust seem worth it. Thanks, everybody. Hope to see you next year.
Recently completed: a solid-wood, hand carved, life size statue of Curt Schilling’s leg (yes, leg). The sculpture will be auctioned off to benefit ALS at a future date to be determined.
I had a ball making this item and I really like it although it generates some interesting responses, from bemused to, “who’s Curt Schilling?” from the non-sporting crowd. I have had it in front of people and the responses have been nice.
I got so tired of people not understanding that my art was 100% wood, even, at times, when they were standing in front of it and being told by me that it was wood. You would be surprised. So with this piece, I put it right out there and I plan on doing that with all of my pieces from now on.
* And before anyone asks me, I’ll tell you. ALS is handling the auction. It’s not on any fast track right now. Yes, I have tried to contact Curt Schilling through social media to propose the idea that he sign it to give it legs in the auction. Since I’m not making a dime off of it, I figured that I’d at least be acknowledged and to date I have not been. Am I disappointed in that? Well, to be completely honest, I am a little, I have to admit, but, I know he’s doing this huge launch to a product that his company has sweated blood to produce, so I understand the busyness.
I know he has people coming at him from all angles with his gaming company and on and on, so I do respect the demands placed on him, however, when someone spends the time I did, meticulously creating an art object for a charity auction for a cause that he champions, then I would hope for an acknowledgement at least. Even if the answer is “no”, which it could easily be. He may be uncomfortable getting too close to something that might appear self-serving. I would totally respect that. But I would like to at least hear, “message rcvd. great work. sorry, no can do good luck”. That’s it. Would that be too much? I read 10 tweets a day from him about the video games and sundry so it’s not like he’s not plugged in. Oh well, everything happens for a reason. So don’t ask me this question again! Got it? haha. Thanks.
Addendum: The Jackie Robinson statue looks like it will be appearing at Citizens Bank Park for the Mets-Phils on Sun April 15, 2012, but I do not have confirmation on that as of right now. It’s a strong possibility however. Love to see everyone there. Day game! Very pleased that the schedule makers did that.
Also, I am in talks with the Negro League Baseball Museum to have Jackie shipped out to Kansas City and displayed at the museum through the All-Star Game period. I’m very happy about that as well. Jackie belongs there and I hope a lot of folks get to see him.
After 3 hours of sleep, it was up at 3am and driving down from NY with the Jackie Robinson statue to do the first of many interviews and appearances at Fox. Ably assisted by Kenny Johnson and Deb Rinaldi of the Phillies, we hit our marks out in front of Fox at 7:20am. A few teaser shots and then a short interview with Fox 29′s John Anderson. Click here to see the interview in a new window
Here’s a small clip my brother took from a little way away during the Uke Washington interview:
Then it was on to a community Jackie Robinson Event at the Philadelphia Stars Memorial at Belmont and Parkside Aves, in Philadelphia. That crossroads was the location of the Philadelphia Stars ballpark. The Stars were Philly’s entry in the old Negro League. Later this day, my family would get to meet two of the last surviving members of that franchise.
There were many groups attending and special promotions from the Phillies. The children were having a ball and posed for this photo.
There were several groups and this particular group did a dance number before posing.
There were many nice monuments marking the site and those who were a part of it. I really enjoyed meeting regular folks from this community and just listening to the older fellows tell me how much Jackie Robinson and Monte Irvin and Larry Doby meant to them growing up. You know, when you do an event like this, those dusty pages in a history book become real live anecdotes and recollections and it was amazing to take it all in. It was also very flattering to hear the very sincere compliments for the statue. When you spend that long covered with itchy sawdust, it is very gratifying to hear these things and see the sparkle in their eyes, as opposed to words on a page.
Here we are finally at The Bank. It’s early; well before batting practice and my amazing handlers with the Phillies (Kenny Johnson & Deb Rinaldi) lined up a couple of more interviews. The first was with John Mayberry, the man who’s hit won the exciting Phils opener. I don’t have any photos of that interview but it went very well and it was nice to see and hear John’s reaction to the statue. It was probably the first time I had spoken to someone who was directly in line with Robinson’s courageous work, so it was extra special for me.
After that piece, we did a short interview with Comcast out in dead center field. What a beautiful backdrop! I have been to 40 different major league ballparks in my lifetime and Citizens’ Bank Park is my favorite building. Everything about it just feels right.
All night it was the same thing: folks lined up in a semi circle around it, taking photos and asking questions. It never gets old. I met some really tremendous people and heard just an amazing array of stories and anecdotes about Robinson, Civil Rights, baseball, art and on and on. This part of it is easy and never feels like work.
By this point in the day, I’m feeling my 3 hours of sleep and nonstop itinerary pretty acutely, however, a great subplot was that my 3.5 year old son, Thomas, came to the game and it was his first time in a big league ballpark! What a way to break in! His uncle Bob, shown below, was holding him up to see the Phillies take batting practice and he caught a BP homer left handed while holding Thomas in his right hand! So on his first game day, Thomas gets a ball!
Later on this evening, Thomas got the ball signed by the last two remaining Phildelphia Stars and for that I am very grateful and want to thank both the Stars and again, my Phillies guardian angel, Kenny Johnson. Kenny is just a pro’s pro and he hit his marks (and kept me hitting mine) all day long with aplomb. He put on a clinic. It’s a pleasure to watch someone do something that they are so good at, whether it be art, or sports, or even business.
Below is Thomas showing off his baseball. How great is that?
Here’s the family; my wife Carol and Thomas (Jack Benny is too little and is spending the day with his grandparents). I’m looking a bit tired by this point and perhaps a bit cold as the temp dropped towards gametime, but on April 15th in the East, you are going to have that. I was just thanking God all day that there was no rain as that was the one thing that would have given us a problem.
Since my statues are 100% solid wood, they will not hold up to weather, so it was a concern. All around baseball, there are many life size statues that honor players but they are all bronze. Bronze is great for holding up to weather and can be outdoors permanently. But Bronze is one color. The great thing about the wooden statues is that I can show color and isn’t baseball a colorful thing anyway? Add to that the color component of the Robinson story and it makes a nice fit. There are currently no color statues such as this permanently residing in any major league ballpark. Wouldn’t it be nice (and somehow fitting) for this statue to be the first?
After a little breather, I did two more spots thanks to Deb Rinaldi and Kenny Johnson. The first was a spot right behind the statue that went very well. It was what they call a “talkback”, which means, I wore an earpiece and had to listen for a cue from an unseen host. It was hard to hear with the crowds and I was worried that I would miss the cue or not be able to make out what the host was asking me, but it turned out to be the best one all day just about. I think I was too tired to be nervous! I’ll tell you, I have new respect for anyone who makes their living with a mike and a camera. They make it look easy–it isn’t.
Here’s what it looked like. I sure look rigid in this shot, but I felt pretty loose, all in all.
After that, I had to run halfway around the stadium and do a pregame radio spot and that was fun and went really well. By then I suppose, it didn’t seem so strange to be doing this stuff.
On the way back to the statue from the plate area, I heard my voice on the PA and quickly ran down the tunnel to the seating area, so that I could see the Phanavision screen. They were showing my 2 minute video which I had narrated. It was the strangest sensation to hear my voice blaring around Citizens Bank Park like that, but there it was. It was a day of things like that and one that I’ll never forget.
I mentioned that two of the old Philadelphia Stars had signed Thomas’ ball and here are their names on the statue by their old stomping grounds which we had visited earlier.
The gentlemen who signed were Mahlon Duckett and Harold Gould. I also got a chance to meet some of the Tuskegee Airmen and that was a big thrill. My father and just about all of my uncles were WWII vets. Men of that generation shaped me more than any other and I have read a great deal about that war and so it was just tremendous to shake the hand of men who flew Jugs and P-51′s against the Germans in those dark days.
Guys like that gave us a lot of freedom and I think it gets taken for granted sometimes, unfortunately. The Tuskegee Airmen, not only had to deal with bombs and bullets, but the institutionalized racism of the day: a double whammy. They are great men for having done all of that and children should know their story.
And again and again, all night, folks stopped by to talk, take photos and ask questions. It was great.
April 15th 2011, a day in which the Jackie Robinson statue went many places and met many nice folks, hopefully, making them happy and spreading awareness of what went on, not that long ago. The statue is tentatively slated to visit the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City later this Summer but as of right now, there are no details.
I want to thank the Philadelphia Phillies for all of their support. I have worked with various organizations and baseball clubs through the years, but I have never seen the professionalism and can-do spirit that I did these past few weeks while working with the Phillies. As I have said, much of that was through the hard work of Kenny Johnson and Deb Rinaldi, who made it easy to do all of these things without one single hitch. As I look back at the itinerary and see all the marks we hit from 7am to 10pm, I am amazed that it went so seamlessly and that is a testament to their diligence. I hope to work with them again in the future.
Here’s my takeaway shot for the day: the first time my little buddy is at a big league game. It was filled with memorable things. I have to wonder, however, that at 3 and a half, will he remember it years from now? I hope he does. I know I will.
Thanks for all the kind words and stories! Enjoy the game.
Saw some search engine searches coming through that had the text string “Mickey Mantle statue” in them, so I figured I would put this out there. This photo was taken at Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant on Central Park South in New York City way back in the mid-90′s.
I still have this statue in inventory–inquiries welcome!
He’s life size in all details and depicted in that classic Mantle left-hand hitting power stroke. The foot print is about 5 feet in length by about 2.5 feet in width.
I’ve finally gotten the time to edit the clips together and it came out fairly well. I’m pleased. We are in talks with some potentially big parties so fingers crossed. Enjoy.
Here is the raw 14″x11″x11″ block of basswood glued up and ready to be transformed into Jack Roosevelt Robinson’s head. We’re already a few hours past this point in reality. The rough out went faster than ever, thanks to new tools I purchased but the detail work is crawling. Just crawling. I’m having the “yips” about getting into the actual do-or-else stuff. I haven’t done this kind of work in a year now and I’m low on confidenct and have found that when I get home from work and only have a few hours to play with, that I fritter away that time as a way to avoid getting into it.
This happens in the sculpting business. You have to punch through, even if it means sitting there for hours and not doing much more than looking at photos and being scared to remove wood. At some point, you will spot “easy” wood to remove and by doing that, you will be drawn in and eventually, you will get into the “zone”.
“The zone” is that hackneyed phrase that is used mostly in sports and sometimes in music. It can be applied to any task, in my opinion. It is, to me, that point where your brain stops processing “noise”. Noise is anything not central to the task. Once you stop processing noise (tired, time to do something else, worrying about x, hungry, what’s on tv), you get focused on the task or piece and instead of working on it with really only partial attention, you bring more of your abilities to bear on the task. This feeds a loop in that, once this happens, results will quickly flow; results at a much faster rate than you are lately accustomed to. Once that happens, you are going to be excited by the progress and that feeds your attention lock and stengthens it, leading to more and more positive results as measured against time.
Once you see the effect of this, the things that were creeping into your thoughts and distracting you begin to melt away. You are less and less interested in them. It gets to the point where even if you work very late and might ordinarialy be concerned that you will be tired for work the next day, in this case, you won’t care. You will lose most of your concer with, and thoughts about, time. You know you’re in the sweet spot and are enjoying that and thinking about time will only hinder you, so out it goes. Now, you’re in “The Zone”. You get a lot done. You’re excited about it. Your confidence soars and as a result, sticky problems are toppling one after the other, as you plow through the project. It’s a great feeling. It’s an energizing feeling. It can spill over into other areas of your life.
Here is the beginning of the life-size Jackie Robinson statue. When looking at this photo, is there any question that it is 100% wood?
This statue is going to be my meisterwerk; better than my DiMaggio; better than the last Babe Ruth. I’m feeling great at the controls and confidence is high. I’ve gathered a surprising amount of Robby photos for the push on the head; enough so that I won’t have to go up to the library at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, to get photos. That’s expensive.
Here’s what I managed to gather up:
The key is to have as many as you can with good detail of the head and from all possible angles. You want just below and just above level. Three quarter and profile and three quarter from behind. Anything that will get you to be able to work out the 3-dimensional aspect of the head. It has to look right from 360 degrees, not just from the front. You’re taking the 2-D photo and trying to guess at what the 3-D object looks like. The 2-D photo contains some 3-D information, but only around the edges. If you had a series of 2-D photos at intervals of, oooh, say, every 4 degrees, you’d have all the info needed to do 3-D.
Have I thought of writing a computer program to do this stuff? You betcha. Will it help me now for Jack? Nope. But this is where being a sculptor is really meaningful. This is where you make the piece alive or not–just a piece of wood (or pieces, as the case is). All the marbles. The challenge.
For this piece, I’ve decided to do a sort of time-lapse, so you can see it come together. I think that might be fun. The sawdust is not fun. More as events warrant. –Fog
This is the photo that is currently on the front page of the Washington Post’s Sunday Metro section:
Before I go any further, let me make sure that I take time to thank the staff at the Gaylord National Hotel inWashington, DC for their tremendous professionalism and attention to every detail. These people are the standard for their industry. I have, in all honesty, never seen such elan in my life. It was a real treat. With the hotel slated to open in a few days, you could ride on the energy of these folks as they readied their jewel of a hotel.
I would also like to thank Michael Hudson of Gaylord Hotels. He is a throwback to a more civil time in America and in business. He is a true gentleman and a visionary in his field. You don’t run into too many people like him and it was my good fortune to have done so. Thanks Michael, for everything.
This is a shot someone took for me with my camera during the installation.
I went down there on Tuesday and stayed until Thursday and The Babe was installed and well received. The Washington Post came by and did a story on the hotel opening and included a fair amount of interest on the statue. I was not sure how much would run on the statue but I was pleased to have folks in Washington DC call and tell me the good news.
The full story of the statue and everything surrounding it is on the Birrerart.com website:
Other things that were noteworthy while I was down there was the fact that the Nationals has declared the sportsbar in the Gaylord as the official sportsbar of the team. Because of this, they had sent over the last home plate used at RFK stadium so it could be permanently installed at the entrance to the sportsbar. Here are a few shots of that and the Washington Post getting their story at the time:
That’s Michael Hudson, Director of Brands at Gaylord Hotels, with homeplate from RFK Stadium.
And here is the laying ceremony while the PR folks take photos.
***
The Gaylord National Hotel is so immense that it is difficult to photograph it all in one frame. The atrium that overlooks the Potomac River and Old Alexandria, Virginia, on the opposite bank, is 18 stories high. There is a village of little shops and fountains and trees and restaurants all inside the enclosure. It is so big that you mostly aren’t aware that you are inside.
Here is a view of the upper part of the atrium. These gaslights are 20 feet high. The scale is just hard to fathom.
On the 24th floor, there is a state of the art nightclub and one of the unique features is, believe it or not, the men’s room. Here are the fixtures and the view is outrageous. The Washington Monument can be seen while you are, well…ahem, you know. It’s just one of a myriad of details that make this hotel one of the most amazing in the world.
Since someone gave me the tip to include some scale in these photos, I have to jump in there. And I’m not really dressed for it but that is reality in the cold cellar. That’s two pairs of insulated undies and about three or four shirts. Class.
And although the shelves look dishevelled, everything has a place where it goes. Not a place for storage, just the place I found it and the place I keep leaving it. It’s amazing how much time gets lost if any of that stuff is moved even 2 feet. Some things have not been moved since the early 1990s. Some of those things have been used just once or even never, but they’re still there and they are reference points I guess. Like the garbage collector, I’m not going to give up on certain ideas and tools. You know, the neighbor with the 1939 Ford rotting in the yard? It’s always like, “…it’s still good…it’s worth like, a LOT of money…” Some of the things are there for nostalgia as in, “…yea, I remember when I was that stupid!”. Or, you find a relic and immediately remember exactly what you were doing the night it came to be: “…that was ’92, Tom was hanging out and Johnny Carson did his last show that night…” It could be a tool, a business card or even a little piece of wood that was going to be just right for something. There are times when I wouldn’t trade ANY of this space for the entire Hearst Castle at San Simeon.
