National Sculptors' Guild Fellow Jane DeDecker has been selected to sculpt Daisy Bates for placement in the City of Little Rock, Arkansas. The honor to portray such an important figure is a true highlight. 

The life-sized bronze bust will be accompanied by a wall of bronze plaques featuring quotations by the great Civil Rights Activist.

​The public display of her image and words will serve well to inspire next generations to take her lead to end racial injustice.

​"I have been truly inspired and deeply moved by the strength and dedication of Daisy Lee Gatson Bates. She turned tragedy into her life's work in fighting against prejudice, segregation, and inequality. Daisy Lee Gatson Bates was a formidable woman who would not stand down." - Jane DeDecker, NSG

The commemorative placement will be completed in 2022. Updates will be posted here.

​Daisy Lee Gatson Bates
Mentor to the Little Rock Nine
Advocate for Equality

10/5/2019: The National Sculptors' Guild has loaded up NSG Fellow Jane DeDecker’s “Arkansas Nineteenth Amendment Memorial” bronze sculpture with its custom designed granite and stainless-steel base and are headed to Little Rock Arkansas... Fable is supervising the load.

Stay tuned for pics of the installation.

The sculpture celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, Granting Women the Right To Vote
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Jane customized the composition for the Arkansas placement, by including additional historic figures; two of the suffragettes who helped lead the movement in Arkansas. Josephine Miller Brown and Julia Burnell Babcock aka Bernie Babcock

In 1919, Arkansas became the 12th state to approve the 19th Amendment.
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The Arkansas 19th Amendment Memorial will be dedicated October 10th at 11am in the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Plaza at Little Rock's  Riverfront Park
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This 5-ft version (minus the two extra figures) is the #Maquette for DeDecker's Every Word We Utter 20-ft #Monument proposed for placement in DC with bills currently being passed through the various points of #legislature. #BePartOfTheCircle learn more...
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So many more phenomenal women were involved in this movement than depicted here. We honor them all with gratitude for the steps they made for ours and future generations.
#SusanBAnthony #ElizabethCadyStanton #SojournerTruth #HarrietStantonBlatch #AlicePaul #IdaBWells #NotableWomen #WomensRights #Vote #Historic #BraveWomen #FigurativeArt #SuffrageMovement #TheirMovementOurMonument  #ThanksFable #ArtDog #RhodesianRidgeback

The National Sculptors' Guild is in Little Rock for this year’s Sculpture at the River Market and to install Carol Gold’s “Infinite Dance”
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Watch for more images of the finished product.
​#FeedYourCreativeSpirit #PublicArt

Carol Gold's INFINITE DANCE proposal won the 2018 competition. Inspiration springs from notions of equilibrium and transformation, ideas that are necessary for the sustained health of society The joyfully dancing figure represents the vibrant cultural scene of the Riverfront Park. The sculpture’s ring shape ties into the curving bridges surrounding the site. The shape of a circle holds deep symbolism, referring to concepts such as: inclusion, unity, and wholeness.
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Loaded onto the truck at Art Castings of Colorado in Loveland with a beautiful custom crate by Shipper's Supply, "Infinite Dance" is on its way to its new home in Little Rock, Arkansas. #SculptureIsATeamSport

see our post Little Rock Finalists Announced to learn more

Here is a video we just ran across by a student digesting and discussing NSG Fellow Jane DeDecker’s Harriet Tubman sculpture that we placed inLittle Rock in 2004, part of a series of sculptures that lead to the Clinton Presidential Center see more about our installation 
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Our sculpture placements continue to move and educate people. #PublicArt #FeedYourCreativeSpirit

Update 4/27/18: Last night they announced our proposal of Carol Gold's Infinite Dance won this year's Sculpture at the River Market public art competition and will be placed within the year.

The decision was made by attendees of A Night in the Garden - where sculpture grows. The Marriot and Vogel-Schwartz Garden looked amazing, filled with flowers and entertainers; including the Central High School Jazz Band, living sculptures, jugglers and other performers. Truly an Artful Experience! see our pics below...

The next Sculpture at the River Market competition winner will be selected April 26th click to vote With 2 of the 3 finalists, we can't wait to see who Little Rock picks. Here are our entries...
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Carol Gold's proposal is INFINITE DANCE, Inspiration springs from notions of equilibrium and transformation, ideas that are necessary for the sustained health of society The joyfully dancing figure represents the vibrant cultural scene of the Riverfront Park. The sculpture’s ring shape ties into the curving bridges surrounding the site. The shape of a circle holds deep symbolism, referring to concepts such as: inclusion, unity, and wholeness.

Stephen Shachtman's GOLDEN becomes an interactive form as the viewer sees through the various negative space "windows" to the surrounding. Causing pause to their day to capture scenes of the city and river that they may otherwise pass-by.

Three sculptors in competition for new creation to be placed in Little Rock
By Helaine Williams, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 04/24/18

Stephen Shachtman has come back for more... 
The Colorado artist won the 2017 Sculpture at the River Market commission competition for his piece A -- or, as he calls it, Arkansas A -- a steel and bronze sculpture that resembles the first letter of the alphabet and is being placed at the Southwest Community Center on Baseline Road in Little Rock.
Now he's back in competition with Golden, a proposed 20-foot tall, abstract sculpture, resembling a gold three-dimensional hopscotch diagram. He hopes to create it have have it placed in Riverfront Park.
He says, "There's a lot of positive and negative spaces" in Golden -- "almost looks like floating shapes in the sky. And I think without such a visual site and space, you wouldn't be able to get that."
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Shachtman is one of three sculptors who has made it to the finals in a competition resulting in a $60,000 commissioned sculpture to take its place in the western section of the park.

Guests will have the opportunity to vote on the finalists' work at A Night in the Garden Where Sculpture Grows, 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden and Riverview Room of the Little Rock Marriott. The event will include heavy hors d'oeuvres and beverages; the Central High School Jazz Band will be playing, along with roving entertainers. Docents will be in the Sculpture Garden to give information about the sculptures. Partygoers will also have a chance to buy a limited number of sculptures from the three finalists.

Founded by city director Dr. Dean Kumpuris, Sculpture at the River Market is a nonprofit organization responsible for a collection of more than 90 pieces of public art, worth more than $4 million, in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden and other locations in the city. Sculpture at the River Market has held competitions for public art since 2011. Other past winners include Clay Enoch (2016) for United, installed at Central High School; Michael Warrick (2015) for Mockingbird Tree, installed at Chenal Parkway and Chenal Valley Drive; Lorri Acott (2014) for Peace, installed at Second and Main streets; and Ted Schaal (2013) for Open Window, installed in Riverfront Park.

SAFE, 3-D PUBLIC ART
Artists competing this year had to design "a visually interesting, safe, three-dimensional public art piece," according to the Sculpture in the Garden website.
The finalists -- interviewed by phone for this story -- were announced Feb. 19 via email notification. They had to prepare a presentation board of their art proposals; these boards will be on display at the party. At the end of the event, the proposal receiving the highest vote totals will be named the commission winner.
Shachtman, whose Red Monolith sculpture resides in Riverfront Park, couldn't pass up the opportunity to possibly place another piece of art there. His work, spanning two decades, has included curved textured metal -- hammered and in open mosaic patterns combined with glass -- as well as his current strong, rectangular shapes with circular pops of color.
"I know the Vogel Schwartz Garden is just getting revamped and I was really interested in placing a large scale piece in that vicinity as well," he says. His proposed piece, he feels, would be ideal. "It's bigger than the Red Monolith; it's taller and wider than the Arkansas A. And I think for the site it fits really well, especially with kind of its medium as far as large-scale abstraction."
Finalist Carol Gold, a California-based artist, has been at her craft some 50 years, running a foundry with a friend for 12 of them. She has participated in the competition for a number of years. Her sculpture Fiesta, depicting two dancing women, is at Clinton Presidential Park.
Gold's preferred medium is wax, which is then cast in bronze. Her competition piece, Infinite Dance, is a figure of a lone woman, arms outstretched, one foot raised, the other resting on an open-circle base.
It's "one of my favorite pieces," Gold says. "To me the circle implies infinity. And the woman dancing on top of the circle is just a graceful figure."

ART WITH A SMILE
Gold isn't the only finalist whose work celebrates rhythmic movement. Third finalist Giuseppe Palumbo, who works from studios in California and Colorado, has proposed Bliss and Glee, whimsical sculptures of two merry sheep, dancing on their hind legs.
"Ultimately, I'm trying to create an experience," Palumbo says. "I sculpt a lot of different pieces, but what I've found is that people want to feel positive and happy. And if I can create that for somebody in a small way, that's my objective." The initial concept for the two-figure piece is one base; if chosen, he will consider separate bases if appropriate.
Palumbo has worked in a number of mediums, "and I enjoy all of them," he says. "I particularly love clay, and the earthiness of it -- just malleable in your hands ... I can get into a nearly meditative state working with it." After he works his magic with clay, his pieces are cast in bronze.
If he wins the competition, he says, Bliss and Glee will be a modest 4-and-a-half feet tall on a 12 to 18-inch base. "Then it will be interacting more with guests on a an eye level, and then the base could be utilized as a seating area."
He adds, "There's a fine line between these animals. You want to keep them welcoming and not menacing."
Style on 04/24/2018  http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/apr/24/art-with-vision-20180424/ 

Update 4/17/18: Installed in Little Rock.

Update 1/10/18: Progress images #WIP

Mark Leichliter's Interwoven design will soon be actualized and placed in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2018. An intricate double mobius strip will be fabricated by Mark in Stainless Steel. 

Update 8/28/2018: Our bronze Hippo #RoundBottomusHippopotamus by NSG Fellow Tim Cherry has found its new home in Riverfront Park. Thanks Sculpture at the River Market and the City of Little Rock, AR #PublicArt #Bronze #Sculpture #Hippo #Bench #RiverfrontPark#LIttleRock #Art This is the National Sculptors' Guild's 499th monumental Public Art Placement!

Update 08/23/2018: Our Hippo friend Roundbottomus Hippopotamus #bronze by Tim Cherry took a snooze under #BlueNorth in the National Sculptors' Guild #sculpturegarden after a busy summer greeting people and enjoying the great amenities at Embassy Suites by Hilton Loveland Hotel Conference Center & Spa. She’s now ready for a drive to her new home in #LittleRock thanks to Sculpture at the River Market
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You can see we are delivering some Little (big) Rocks to Little Rock too and our #zen tea master #Sculpture Afternoon Sun by Dee Clements is joining them. Plus a few paintings. Thanks for loving Art Little Rock, Arkansas!
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#RoadTrip #SculptureDelivery #MonumentalSculpture #PublicArt#FeedYourCreativeSpirit #LiveWithArt #NSG #Installation #HippoLove #TimCherry

Update 12/07/2017: Tim Cherry has finished Roundbottomus Hippopotamus in a beautiful Pat Kipper patina. The first in the edition was commissioned through the National Sculptors' Guild for the City of Little Rock, Arkansas and will be installed in the spring once the site is ready. The sculpture is designed to be played on and around, placed directly on the ground, bands of different colors of concrete will surround the bronze to give the sense of rings of water. The donor has named her "Annaba" after the modern city built over the ruins of Hippo Regius in Algeria, Africa where their father spent time in the 1940s.
Want one of your own? click here

Update 07/11/2017: Tim Cherry has been sculpting the Hippo that will head to Little Rock. The finished clay is shown here.

7/26/2016   #WIP coming soon.... The National Sculptors' Guild is working on a fun placement with Tim Cherry. A Hippo Bench for Little Rock, AR. The bronze sculpture will depict a hippo appearing to be wading in water - in a shape and size that invites interaction - seating and playing on/around. Measuring approximately 6x3ft.

Stay tuned for images as we progress.

The Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden is expanding to showcase additional artwork acquired through proceeds from the Sculpture at the River Market Exhibit. Quickly outgrown, the additional space will allow for more than a dozen sculpture placements. To start, NSG has placed Jane DeDecker's Shortcuts, Lil' Sis; Leo Osborne's Of Grace, a Dan Ostermiller bear - Le Grand Pere; and Big Bill by Tim Cotterill (the Frogman)
Click here to see more of the garden and artwork
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The sculpture garden features natural terraces and walkways designed by City of Little Rock's Leland Couch, Mark Webre & National Sculptors' Guild's John Kinkade. The design creates a more intimate space to view smaller works within the Riverfront Park and is ideal for hosting receptions, as well as, allowing visitors to enjoy the sculptures in solitude. The sculpture garden is located northeast of The Marriott in Riverfront Park and is just one stop of many public art placements along the Arkansas river to enjoy artist's sculptures from across the nation. ‪#‎SculptureGarden‬ ‪#‎ArkansasArt‬ ‪#‎RiverfrontPark

12/13/16 update: While the National Sculptors' Guild was in Little Rock this week, we installed some of the final donor blocks on the ​ROTARY CLUB 99 Centennial Plaza. The design is based on the Rotary Wheel emblem and it's symbolism. Designed by NSG's John Kinkade ​and Mark Leichliter National Sculptors' Guild
based upon the Rotary Wheel emblem. ​ [read below to learn more about the concept]

7/19/16:
​ROTARY CLUB 99 
Centennial Plaza
Little Rock, AR 
Designed by 
John Kinkade
​and Mark Leichliter
National Sculptors' Guild
based upon the Rotary Wheel emblem.

The Rotary Wheel emblem symbolizes work and involvement. The worldwide Rotary movement has real significance and tremendous potential. It has impressive statistics as to numbers of members, clubs, districts, and countries, international projects and contacts.
 
Beginning with the Rotary Wheel’s perimeter, there are 24 teeth. These could be seen as the clubs, each prepared and willing to engage with other clubs or organizations around the world, with the purpose of doing good. The 24 teeth also point outwards to the many directional activities of Rotary through its wide variety of international programs. 

​The solid blue and gold band, which supports the teeth, provides the strength which is needed to transmit power and hold the Rotary movement as one. It carries the inscription "Rotary International" and has four segments which represent the four avenues of  service. The six spokes bind together the hub and the rim. They represent the Districts, moving the power from its source to the working elements - the teeth, representing the clubs. The six spokes divided by the twenty four teeth is a mathematical reference to the Four Way Test. 

The central hub ensures that the whole gear runs true to its purpose: the power and the energy created when people of like mind and are committed to releasing this energy; "Service above Self".

Curved concrete retaining walls measuring slightly over 4 feet tall will diminish in height and eventually be even with the surface grade. These walls will be stained or painted black and will have vines growing over them to soften their edges. The Plaza will feature eleven monolithic blocks lining the curved retaining wall to the northwest.  These stone blocks refer to the Teeth of the Rotary Wheel emblem. Made of Georgia Medium Grey Granite, which is a lighter grey color, these stone blocks will be more reflective in nature and less somber than black granite. 

Nine of the eleven blocks will be etched with 20 to 25 names each, serving as Name Recognition Blocks. The block at the entry will be engraved with the name of the Plaza as well as the Rotary Wheel emblem. The block at the other end of the curved retaining wall will have an explanation of the park and could contain the “updatable” signage and QR code.

All blocks will measure 4 feet tall, 33 inches wide and 24 inches deep.
Stone benches will be placed along the other, more gently-curved retaining wall. The Georgia Medium Grey Granite benches will measure 16 inches tall, 60 inches long and 16 inches deep. The seats and legs will be made of same material in a post and lintel 
construction. 

Each bench will be etched with one of the Four Way Test phrases: 
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

The surface of the Plaza is yet to be determined, but possible solutions include poured concrete or 
decomposed granite gravel. The Rotary Wheel will be portrayed through spoke designs and could consist of 12” wide granite embedded into the Plaza’s surface or may just be lines scored into the concrete, depending upon cost.
The widest part of the plaza has a 48 foot diameter. At this scale, the Plaza is not so expansive that a small gathering of people feels exposed and yet, it is big enough that it can comfortably handle a larger group of visitors.  

We suggest using landscape materials that will honor the blue and gold colors of Rotary as shown in the 
ornamental shrubs and grasses. Shade trees will 
effectively cool the area in the summer months of July and August. 

Ivy on the walls will give the plaza a softer atmosphere and set off the benches and Name Recognition Blocks. We also recommend a low ornamental hedge, such as holly, between the retaining wall and the sidewalk to prevent people from jumping over the wall. 

The central Rotary Wheel element is to be made entirely of brushed stainless steel. It will be oriented to read from the sidewalk and placed where its shadow will cast prominently on the plaza. In this way, it becomes an iconic signage element defining the Rotary Plaza while also being an eye-catching landmark and photo opportunity. 

This visual landmark will measure nearly 12 feet tall and 8 feet wide. At this scale, the iconic element will be instantly noticeable, yet not over-bearing within the Plaza site.

The shadows shown in these design drawings reflect the true sun/shadow surfaces for Little Rock, Arkansas. The shadows cast off of the central landmark element give a sundial effect.   

The overall design of the Plaza positions the benches in more shaded areas of the site, whereas the Name Recognition Blocks are placed to remain predominantly in the sun.