Dressing up your town with a bronze sculpture

via sculptsite.com

From Grass Roots Movement to World-Class Exhibit White Plains, NY - Beginning five years ago as a "grass roots" movement to put sculpture in White Plains' public space, the city's Sculpture Committee has come of age. With the 62-piece, 30-year retrospective of American master sculptor David Hayes, art in White Plains has overgrown its sculpture gardens and spread into a veritable city-wide museum, sprouting shape and color in public and private space throughout the city's suburban neighborhoods and downtown residences and businesses.

White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino has fully embraced the arts throughout his 11-year administration and is one of the Hayes exhibit's most vocal fans. "An important measure of a city's greatness is it's dedication to the arts, which, to me, is our heart and soul," he said. "Outdoor art unifies a city in a way that transcends words. Whether we like a piece or not, we react to it, and, over time, we become accustomed to it. It becomes part of who we are as a community."

One of America's great living contemporary sculptors, Mr. Hayes creates dynamic art from flat sheets of painted steel, welded and bolted into forms inspired by nature. Mr. Hayes himself, his sons David M. and John, and his granddaughter Alexandra, along with crew members of the White Plains Department of Public Works and volunteers from local neighborhoods, houses of worship and schools, have assembled the pieces in puzzle-like fashion one at a time. Eli Schonberger, an ebullient 80-plus-year old who won't let two knee replacements get in the way of his skiing, is as committed to the Sculpture Committee as he is to the slopes. It was he who planted one of the first seeds of the "grass roots" art movement and he who approached David Hayes with an idea that has resulted in the largest outdoor exhibit for both the city and the artist.

Schonberger and Mayor Delfino have reached out to corporate sponsors to support the sculpture installation. The RPW Group, Inc., Heyman Properties and Belway Electric are the exhibit's current major supporters who have gotten the exhibit off the ground. More funding is needed but Schonberger is optimistic about the future. "We're hoping this newest city-wide exhibition will now generate financial support so that we can continue our efforts," he said. Hayes' works are included in the permanent collections of prominent museums around the world including the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The year-long White Plains exhibit is open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The exhibit has been extended to November of 2010.




If you want to add a work of art to your town's parks or public areas, but don't have the budget for "artist" fees, check out our large in-stock selection of bronze statues, fountains, and sculptures. We can also do custom pieces!

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Our Hand Carved Cigar Store Indian Tobacco Statues have Arrived!

Our spring shipment of hand carved, wood Cigar Store Indians have arrived! These beautifully crafted works of art are only available in limited supply. We only get 1 to 2 shipments, a year! They make a perfect addition to any tobacco product collector's collection. They make a great conversation piece and look great in the den, billiard room, bar or office. Get one before they're all gone!

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Giant Replica DaVinci Horse Sculpture finds a home

by Pat Brennan, thestar.com

A copy of Leonardo da Vinci's bronze horse has chosen Michigan as its stomping ground at the Frederik Meijer Gardens.

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. Leonardo da Vinci never did get to see his horse come in.

Although he drew up plans for a mammoth 7.3-metre bronze horse for his hometown of Milan more than 500 years ago, his clay model was destroyed by the invading French.

Today, Leo as he was known in the old neighbourhood could see his design fulfilled in his hometown in Italy. Or just 580 kilometres down the road from Toronto in Grand Rapids, Mich.

U.S. grocery store magnate Frederik Meijer helped sponsor the creation of Leonardo da Vincis horse in Milan. Meijer also thought his hometown could also use a spectacular sculpture of da Vincis horse.
Thats why Grand Rapids has an exact copy of the Milan statue. In Michigan its called the American Horse.

A team of Clydesdales pulled a shroud off the huge sculpture in September 1999. Time Magazine declared the horse sculpture one of the 10 best international designs of that year.

It stands in Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park where Meijer and his wife have deposited much of their private sculpture collection. The garden is a 51-hectare nature preserve where large sculptures by some of Americas finest artists are lurking among the forests and wetlands. You can walk the boardwalk trails, or ride an open tram through the park.

Many more fine creations are displayed in various indoor galleries, plus copies of da Vincis own drawings for his horse. There is also a detailed description about how the 15-ton horse was created.

As well as artwork, Frederik Meijer Gardens (www.meijergardens.org) features plenty of natures beautiful creations. A three-storey greenhouse houses colourful birds from exotic South Sea Islands and the flowers, shrubs and trees that make them feel right at home.

But be careful where you walk. The greenhouse is also home to Kiwi, the little birds from New Zealand that cant fly. They skitter amidst your feet.

Frederik Meijer Gardens hosts a wide variety of flower and plant shows each spring. And in April the place is alive with butterflies, which will eventually be released from the glass dome to make their way south.

The sculpture park is on East Beltline Ave. N.E., just off Interstate 96 on the Toronto side of Grand Rapids. Its open every day until 5 p.m. and until 9 p.m. on Thursday during the summer months. Admission is $12 (all figures U.S.) for adults and $9 for seniors.

Frederik Meijer isnt the only local boy to do well. Grand Rapids was also home to President Gerald Ford and his wife, Betty. His presidential library has been built on the west bank of the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids.

Meijer had a portion of the original Berlin Wall built in the lobby of Fords presidential museum. It also features holdings from Washingtons Smithsonian Museum, which circulates many of its materials and displays through the Grand Rapids facility the centrepiece of an eight-hectare riverside park in the heart of an attractive downtown core.



Need your own monumental statue? We can make your custom piece a reality! We also have a large selection equestrian related pieces available!

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Archaeologists Unearth Early Roman Sculpture Fragments at Stobi Site

Archaeology Daily News
Balkan Travellers

Archaeologists unearthed a sculpture fragments of a man's head and a small torso dating from to the Early Roman period during recent excavations of the ancient Stobi site in central Macedonia.

The discoveries, found at the temple building which has been undergoing archaeological excavations, are rare and important, as they will shed light on the life of people during that period, archaeologist Silvana Blahzevska, Director of the National Institution Stobi, explained, cited by the Vecer newspaper.

"The way the hair and the face of the found head were made, as well as the ap

pearance of the remaining part of the sculpture, suggest that it was of an emperor or an important citizen who lived in the first century," Blazhevka stated.
Archaeologists expect that the find will help them learn more about the temple which has been continuously robbed since antiquity . about whom it was dedicated to and when it was constructed.

According to Blazhevska, so far there was no detailed information on the temple, whose roof was entirely destroyed and whose floor was covered with rubble from different time periods. Since a Russian coin from 1863 was found at the site, according to the arcaheologist, the temple was thought to have been fully plundered, but now, fortunately, it turns out that the first floor has not been touched.

The excavations at the ancient site of Stobi are being carried out by a team of 65 archaeologists and 400 workers.

Director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Office Pasko Kuzman told the publication that many other archaeological sites, in addition to Stobi, will continue to be excavated this year, while Minister of Culture Elizabeta Kancheska . Milevska said that work at the site will continue as long as the weather conditions allow.

The ancient town of Stobi, which developed from a Paeonian settlement established in the Archaic period, is located on the main road that leads from the Danube to the Aegean Sea and is considered by many to be the most famous archaeological site in the Republic of Macedonia.




If you'd like a piece of Roman sculpture check out our replicas of Caesar, Perseus slaying Medusa, or the fabled Capitoline Wolf!

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Giant horse sculpture intended to become a new landmark in Kent have been given planning permission

As stated on sculptsite.com

EBBSFLEET VALLEY, KENT THAMESIDE, UK - Artist Mark Wallinger's White Horse is 33 times life-size and, overlooking the A2 in the Ebbsfleet Valley, will be seen by up to 60 million people a year.

The steel-frame scheme, selected following a competition, was unanimously approved yesterday by Gravesham Borough Council.

The backers of the project, Eurostar, Land Securities and London & Continental Railways, have so far injected around £1 million of seed funding to get the project off the ground.

Wallinger said: "This is a tremendously exciting project. I was honoured that my White Horse won the competition and I am delighted that Gravesham Borough Council has granted it planning permission. The team and I are very much looking forward to creating a new landmark for the area."

Project Director Mark Davy said the sculpture would "act as an important catalyst for the cultural identity of the area".

"Ebbsfleet Valley will be a major new mixed-use development, which is set to become a hub for an emerging new economy in the South-east," he added.

Other parties involved in the project include engineer Alliance Design Group.




If you're interested in something a bit smaller, say lifesize, check out our selection of lifesize horses. We have several styles for the equestrian enthusiast.

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Phillies fans to honor Harry Kalas with memorial bronze statue

The late Harry Kalas is being honored by his devoted fans with a memorial bronze sculpture to be donated to the Philadelphia Phillies organization. A website has been created to raise the $80k plus it will take to make this happen. A local artist has been hired after taking it upon himself to create a model after seeing a petition online to have a statue created. While this is all very moving and sincere, these fans could have obtained the sculpture at a fraction of the price if they shopped around a bit. Here at bigbronze.com we can create custom works as well but for a lot less than the $80,000 the fans of philadelphia are paying. And our pieces are of no less quality than the ones made by a famous artist. The difference is you pay for a name when you commission a known artist. We don't charge for the privelage of our services, just the service itself. So, if you're in the market for a custom piece to honor someone or some thing, save yourself a substantial amount by giving us a call first and getting the most bang for your buck.

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The early bird gets the worm, and the best selection and prices!

We constantly tell people that call in to inquire about one of our pieces that the time to buy is now, generally this goes unheeded because people assume it's just a sales tactic. It's not. We have a lot of sculptures and fountains in-stock, but never more than 1 or 2 of each style. What this means to a consumer is it's better to buy now than wait and hope for a better price. We're already the lowest priced dealer in the country so waiting and hoping to save an extra hundred dollars may actually cost you more in the long run. All our in-stock prices are based on our cost AT THE TIME we purchased it. If you wait, and the piece sells out, you now risk paying significantly more because the next time we order it the price will have gone up on our end which means it's going up on your end as well. Plus, by ordering sooner than later you'll get the best selection as well.

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Loonie climbs past parity for second day, Canadien buying power increases.

Canadien residents can really take advantage of the current economics and the strength of the Loonie by buying US products.

As stated REUTERS:

"The Canadian dollar continued to test parity against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, hitting a near 21-month high a day after reaching one-for-one footing.

At 8:03 a.m. (1203 GMT), the Canadian dollar climbed to C$1.0005 to the U.S. dollar, or 99.95 U.S. cents, higher than Tuesday's close at C$1.0012 to the U.S. dollar, or 99.88 U.S. cents."

With a weak dollar and the most affordable prices on the web, buying a bronze sculpture, statue, or fountain has never been easier. Even with price increases expected, bigbronze.com is your source for bronze landscape and home decor.

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Bronze Prices to Reach Record Highs

Copper is once again on the rise, forcing a price increase industry wide. As the main component in bronze, this metal is essential to the creation of the many pieces you see on our site. As stated on wsj.com: Oil and copper ended at heights not seen since 2008, boosted by evidence that the U.S. economy is recovering just as the two commodities enter their peak demand period. May copper, which has the most open positions, settled up 1.3% to $3.6315 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest close since July 2008. The front-month April contract ended up 1.4% at $3.6260.

These prices are for RAW material, the prices for the refined metal used for the creation of the sculptures and fountains we carry is upwards of $8/lb. This means an increase in the retail pricing of the new pieces we get in, all the more reason to take advantage of the incredible discounts we're offering for our in-stock pieces.

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Adding style to your landscape this Spring with Sculpture and Fountains

Looking for a way to add some style, beauty, or character to your landscape or garden project? At bigbronze.com, we have a large in-stock inventory of bronze sculptures, statues, and fountains that are perfect for just such a need. We carry pieces in all subject matter and styles. From nautical to kids and animals to classical, we've got you covered. If you want something we don't carry, just ask and we can have a custom piece made! Our prices can't be beat. Check us out today!

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