It saddens us to share that Carol Gold passed away August 18, 2022. Her daughter's words embody the loss we all feel, "The hole she has left is huge." This is true for us on a personal level, as much as it is, a loss to the  art community at large.

Over the past thirty years, Fairfax, California artist, Carol Gold's work has been widely exhibited in the U.S. and Canada. Her sculpture has received numerous accolades at national exhibitions including the John Cavanaugh Memorial Award from the National Sculpture Society and multiple feature articles in renowned publications.

Carol has been a fellow with the National Sculptors' Guild since 1996. With our design team, the prolific sculptor placed hundreds of smaller works and dozens of public art commissions. Each monumental placement promote a sense of pride and community cohesion where they are installed 

Early on we placed a jovial depiction of two figures in a sort of kite-like dance called "Wind" in Coos-Bay, Oregon.

​Another vibrant sculpture "Fiesta" was first placed at the pedestrian entry to the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library. This sculpture has since also been added to the permanent collections of the city's of Cerritos, California and Loveland, Colorado. 

Her monumental "Story Teller" has greeted visitors to the Whittwood Branch Library in Whittier, CA since 2007. This exuberant figure brings their narrative to life; stone benches provide a spot for visitors to sit and read, or listen to library orators. 

"Conversation" has been placed in Paramount, California and Boulder, Colorado where two figures face each other, connecting through thoughtful discussion. And the bronze figures in "Communion" take in the view and create a quiet area in a natural space of a Northern Colorado residential park for visitors to take a rest from the trail.

In 2010, her 13-foot tall bronze and stainless steel sculpture, "Time" was installed at North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, MI. This quickly became a favorite “photo op” destination for students and visitors to the campus. Additional castings were later added to the City's of Bend, Oregon and Loveland, Colorado.

Perhaps the least expected monument is "Belle", a larger-than-life sized Holstein cow commissioned by the City of Bellflower, CA as a nod to their start as a dairy-producing town. Since Gold grew up on a dairy farm in western Massachusetts, this subject was actually not a far stretch for her; she annually included an animal sculpture or two in her portfolio of small works. 

Her 14-foot tall sculpture "Infinite Dance" was added to the Town of Pittsfield, MA in the town’s central common, the heart of the community; followed by placements in Little Rock, Arkansas and her final installation in Downey, California. This is perhaps the closest to a self-portrait of the monuments - depicting a figure dancing joyfully on the top of a stainless steel ring. Carol was both a serious and studious person, she stayed current with politics and social issues, but that glint in her eye as she looks up at you (for most of us) showed her wisdom about the balance of life; to sometimes set all that aside and move to the music.

We are so grateful for the time we have known and worked with Carol Gold to share her creative energy and vision; her artistic legacy will contribute for generations to come.  - Alyson and John Kinkade, National Sculptors' Guild

We are very pleased to share that National Sculptors' Guild Fellow Michael Warrick has been recognized by the Arkansas Arts Council as the 2020 Arkansas Living Treasure for his work and dedication to the craft of metalworking.

“Creating and teaching are very important to me,” Warrick said. “I have made it a personal goal to help others learn and create through the craft of metalworking. In my own creative metalwork, it is my hope that I can bring elements of our humanity and history through the craft.”

Warrick, who teaches at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has been shown locally and internationally. His work was shown in a solo touring exhibition in 1996 that appeared in the Strause Gallery of the Arkansas Arts Center. A recent sample of Warrick’s work sits in front of the main entrance to the new Windgate Art + Design building at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

Warrick’s work has appeared in exhibitions and public installations locally and worldwide. He regularly does commission work, including a piece he created in 2017 for the Little Rock Sister City Commission to give to the City of Hanam in South Korea. A video about that project is available via UALRTV.

Warrick is currently completing an 18-foot stainless-steel with gold leaf sculpture "Mockingbird/Orange Tree" commissioned through the National Sculptors' Guild for The Groves in Whittier, California.

Warrick has studied his craft for more than 30 years. He started learning metalworking in 1967, when he took an industrial arts class in high school that included welding. He became a certified welder in 1972 and worked on large-scale mining equipment trucks, industrial fixtures and railroad cars.

He attended Illinois State University as an art student in 1976. There, he learned metal casting and sculpting, and as a graduate student, he learned to work with cast iron. By 1995, he had picked up the technique of ceramic shell casting, which allowed him to cast finer and thinner bronze works.

Warrick is constantly learning, experimenting and evolving. In 2015, he learned 3D printing with polylactic acid plastic (PLA) and used the new technology in tandem with traditional lost wax casting for his metalwork. The resulting large-scale, 21-by-15-by-15-foot sculpture sits today outside the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. The sculpture is a fascinating mix of stainless steel, bronze, glass and concrete that celebrates the Louisiana Purchase.

“I am a firm believer that there is much value to learning traditional methods for creating in cast metal,” Warrick said. “I am also curious about contemporary techniques in the production of objects and how they might be enhanced by joining old and new techniques.”

Warrick is committed to maintaining and advancing his craft through mentoring, teaching, lecturing, demonstrating and building through teamwork. Since joining UALR in the fall of 1990, Warrick has been instrumental in securing grants, including one to build a foundry and kilns for metal casting for the university. Another grant allowed him to bring in renowned lecturers in metalworking. He also sat on a committee that brought public sculptures to the university to “embellish the culturally rich environment.” 

Warrick is known as a dedicated instructor who teaches multiple metalworking courses. He said being a mentor to metalworking students is vital because mentors perpetuate the craft and can change lives. He has mentored students at ULAR, supervised interns from the University of Central Arkansas and taught students from his home studio. He has consulted and taught workshops and classes in Indiana and Tennessee.

Christopher Owen Nelson is the newest National Sculptors' Guild member, providing some incredible solutions for upcoming public art placements. We are excited to introduce Christopher's unique approach depicting nature in an innovative, contemporary context.

"Through my art, I continue to explore man’s obsession to re-create and perfect nature. My artwork creates a bridge or transition between the man-made and natural worlds.

Through prestigious exhibitions and collections, my artworks have traveled the globe. Already in my career I have presented over a dozen solo exhibitions. Boulder Museum of Art, Boulder, Colorado; The Art Museum at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, and St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland are among the many museums and universities who have exhibited my work.

I continually look forward to exploring the possibilities that come with developing my craft, creating challenging pieces, forming new ideas, and extending my pursuit of expression through sculpture." -Christopher Owen Nelson

Learn more about Christopher Owen Nelson

Acclaimed Country music artist Tim McGraw spotted our Sandy Scott River Market Pig public art placement in Little Rock, AR while performing in the city during his Shotgun Rider Tour. Thanks for the sweet tweet! Check out more National Sculptors' Guild placements in this great city. #LittleRock