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In the beginning…

In 1998, after a short stint working in animation I worked for a halloween mask making company in the San Francisco Bay Area. I can’t remember the first mask I ever sculpted, but it was likely a monster or alien head, since those were popular masks. After a few weeks I was trusted to sculpt various realistic faces that were needed. Life size portrait busts of George W. Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jack Nicholson, Monica Lewinski (yes there was a demand for her when Clinton was president) and several others were portraits I recall having sculpted. The busts were then turned into halloween masks and sold on the market. I remember modeling several masks of Cassandra Peterson, aka Elvira and other faces that required more anatomically correct likenesses.

There were about five or so clay sculptors all doing the same thing, each artist with a special skill. Molds would then be made in the next room over by a dedicated group of artisans and then those molds were shipped to China for mass production before hitting the market. Unfortunately, I rarely ventured out of the sculpting room so I didn’t get the chance to learn the other processes in detail.

A new calling

After a couple of months making halloween masks Mario Chiodo, the owner, asked me if I’d be interested in sculpting large monuments. At 23 years old any opportunity Mario wanted to throw my way would have made me happy. Heck, I would have scrubbed toilets with a toothbrush if it meant being hired to the coolest company and learning from a great sculptor. I was eager to learn and excited for the trust that he was showing me. Not only was Mario an incredible sculptor, he was a great business man and a genuinely good person all around.

In early summer of 1998, Mario brought me over to a warehouse a few blocks from the halloween company which had a couple of large sculptures in progress. James, Todd, Michael and Debra were hard at work on what was Mario’s first casino sculpture: “The Greenbacks”, still located at Harrah’s casino in Las Vegas.

Immediately I joined Todd and went to work on the other large monument “Birds of Paradise”, this one about 8 or 9 feet tall. From the first stroke of the tool I fell in love with making large scale sculptures. I especially loved problem solving and the challenges working large. The large commercial buildings where we worked in in the east bay were inspiring. With 16 foot rollup doors leading into a large and somewhat empty space filled my mind with possibilities and ideas. Sometimes there would be five or more monuments happening simultaneously. I loved talking with the other assistants, getting my hands dirty and feeling like an artist.

Eventually, I got to meet Mario’s main client for the casino sculptures, Henry Conversano. Henry used to drive up in a cherry-red dodge viper and he looked like Las Vegas! He was confident, well respected and enjoyed his time visiting Mario and his assistants. Sometime after meeting Henry I began designing a few of the monuments under Mario’s guidance. If memory serves we all did a little designing for Mario.

It was hands-on learning and by far better than any art school education out there. I had found my calling and I was ready to jump into the monument business head first.

The best kind of vice is ADvice

One day, Mario was alone working late and I somewhat awkwardly told him how much I wanted to start my own sculpture company, perhaps even run a foundry. I didn’t really expect him to care much at all. After all, I was young and had only been sculpting for him for about 4 or 5 months. But he saw my love for large scale sculpture and that I wanted to learn. Over the next few weeks he shared his thoughts with me when he wasn’t busy running around. Although I may be paraphrasing this short list here is some of the advice that has stuck with me over the years; 

1. You have to crawl before you walk, walk before you run and run before you fly. Everything is done in that order.
2. There is no immediate success in the sculpture business. 
3. You have to make your own luck. And the harder and smarter you work the luckier you get.
4. Go to Italy! It will change your life.
5. Don’t get your overhead so large where everything collapses (although this may have come from Mario’s cousin Denny)

I listened. I went to Italy and it did change my life. When I came back, I worked. I worked alone and hard…And I worked harder, then smarter.

The journey

After working for Mario off and on for a couple years I decided to leave the bay area. My first job after leaving Northern California was as a sculpting assistant for Danielle Anjou in Santa Barbara, CA. After moving to Loveland, CO I worked for sculptors Gary Lange and Dee Clements. It was working for Dee Clements that gave me that final missing link that would soon allow me to get the ball rolling as my own artist. Dee taught me how to make good urethane molds, pour waxes into molds, chase waxes, weld and chase bronze. I also learned how to do patinas, maintain a working studio and greet clients with a smile.

After working for Dee for a couple of years I felt confident to go out on my own. I purchased equipment, found a large studio to work in and eventually started Sutton Betti Sculptures, Inc.

Passing the torch 

Recently I made the decision to hire a full-time sculpting assistant, one that is a little like me; hard-working, talented and determined to find his/her path in this business. Someone reliable that I can teach as much as I can.

I am optimistic. Optimistic that the skills I carry can be passed on.

 

Remembering & Remembering the Fallen, a look back

I made two life size outdoor statues that are similar to each other in pose and feeling, but they are two different sculptures. Remembering and Remembering the Fallen. While they are both US Marines kneeling and remembering, there are two differences that I feel compelled to write about.

Remembering is a kneeling soldier from the war on terror and is supposed to represent a modern day soldier. He was the first US Marine I sculpted and he was made a few years before Remembering the Fallen. The life size sculpture was modeled after a friend, a US Marine who served at the start of the war in Afghanistan.

The Marine is kneeling holding his combat helmet in his right arm and his left hand raised up against a wall. It could be any wall; a concrete wall that was blasted from an attack or a wall symbolizing remembrance. He was designed to be remembering a fallen brother. Over the years, however, the meaning of this sculpture has grown a little deeper. I’ve reimagined him as remembering more than a soldier. Instead, perhaps he is remembering the sacrifices he and others make for the sake of freedom. Or perhaps it is the collateral loss or the price of war. Memories stay with us especially traumatic ones.

Remembering the Fallen, which is the second version in my Remembering “series”, was sculpted in 2017. This modern day soldier is not clutching his helmet or with his hand raised to a wall, but instead he is holding a folded flag. A ceremonial folded flag.

When I first made this sculpture my thought was would an active-duty soldier really be carrying a folded flag to combat? Initially, this question persisted in my head. But, I decided, after internal debating, if he recently lost a family member in war he might carry one.

This soldier is in a different emotional loss than the first Remembering. He takes the loss deeper. Deep enough to carry the most important memory he now has of his brother or sister, to the most dangerous locations on earth. To honor and to hold someone close one last time.

The meaning behind this newer sculpture seems to have transformed my thoughts on the previous sculpture. It’s weird how that happens.

When I first posted Remembering the Fallen on social media, it went something near viral. Well, as viral as my own sculptures had ever gotten at that point. It had hundreds of shares in a matter of days. It was impressive. I immediately started getting emails, private messages and phone calls from people who fell in love with it. They were from all over the country and what a surprise it was!

Meaning of an artwork can change, but the artwork itself doesn’t

It is interesting how time changes our views on something. It changes our views on life, on family, things we cherish or don’t cherish. We may have hated some of our teachers when we were in school but now we see their good side. But to stay on track, views on art change as well even though the artwork doesn’t. In the case of Remembering vs. Remembering the Fallen, I think that because I had created a similar mood and pose with the second sculpture that it changed my views on the first sculpture.

I have admired and continue to admire many works of art, especially through social media which makes it easy to study someones artwork. Some artwork seem to have meaning or feeling that changes with time. Perhaps morphing into something else. I imagine the Mona Lisa and the Thinker are the best examples. Right out of the womb they weren’t seen as icons or symbols of painting or sculpture that they are now. But at some point after their creation they became so.

An artworks feeling/energy/meaning/depth etc changes with time. But all artwork doesn’t change on the same level. Some probably don’t change at all. And that is what is fascinating to me. What makes artwork stand the test of time?  Why, for example, have Thomas Kinkade paintings, which were once highly sought after, been looked down upon in the last twenty or so years?

As I approach half a century on our planet I can see the importance of art and why it is so valued. Some might say art is even more valued today with social media and the broader audience artists can get. Art changes us and gives us a place to put our thoughts and emotions. Art can be our worst enemy one day and our best friend the next. While the artwork itself doesn’t change, maybe we do.

 

Earlier this year I began sculpting a life size K9 sculpture for a veterans memorial in Ohio. The sculpture is a tribute to military working dogs and was inspired by my dad’s dog Sarge.

Sarge, a beautiful German Sheppard, was adopted as a puppy and trained to be my dad’s service dog. Since my dad suffered from mild PTSD from his service in Vietnam, Sarge would help him cope with his condition. He was my dad’s best friend and was with him till the very end on their last walk together on April 30, 2015.

With Sarge living in Southern California having him sit for me at my studio in northern Colorado wasn’t feasible. So, I went in search of finding a local German Sheppard, similar in build, that I could use for reference for the life size sculpture. I called a couple of dog training businesses and one of them, K9 Wisdom Training in Loveland, responded that they had a beautiful, young Sheppard. I met with the trainer to snap pictures and take measurements of the German Sheppard posing as a military service dog. 

The military dog statue was then created in my studio in Loveland, Colorado. After one month of sculpting and three months at the foundry Liberty was finished.

Liberty is a tribute to military working dogs

Representing all military dogs, the monument honors the sacrifices all war dogs make that give us the freedoms we enjoy. Liberty was also created in memory of my dad. The project got its start on the five year anniversary of his death.

The bronze sculpture now stands guard at the fallen soldier memorial in the center of Bloomville Veterans Memorial in Bloomville, Ohio. She was installed September 2, 2020 completing a five year construction project that began in 2015.

Recently I came back from beautiful Wisconsin where I delivered three of my life size bronze sculptures to clients who are building a large veterans memorial along the Eau Claire river. I have been working with the foundation since late 2019 to create sculptures for the Veterans memorial and this past week I finally got to see the site where it will all come together.

Below are the first three sculptures that were delivered and temporarily installed last week. I met with the foundation members over dinner on Wednesday and got a tour of the site the following day, after we delivered the sculptures to nearby veterans organizations (who are holding the sculptures until the site is further along). The sculptures that I delivered are two Honor Guard sculptures, also known as Sentinels, and a third sculpture of a Gold Star Mother with poppies. These three sculptures will be the first grouping and will be permanently installed sometime next spring 2021. Details in the coming months.

 

Honor Guard, presenting arms

Present Arms, Honor Guard was first designed to guard the entrance to a 1/4 acre veterans park in West Point, Nebraska. American Veterans Park is a tribute to all veterans from across the United States and recognizes the service and sacrifice of all U.S. servicemen and women. As a real Honor Guard guards National Monuments and provides military funeral honors, this life size bronze sculpture guards the entrance to a veterans park in a small town. In 2021, an additional bronze casting will be created and permanently installed in a large veterans park at another location. Details in the coming months.

In the beginning…

The sculpture first began in 2017 when I was asked to provide concept sketches for a United States Army and Marine Honor Guard presenting arms. Presenting Arms has been used since the 1700’s and is a common command in all branches of the military all over the world. The command is a show of respect and honor when presenting their weapons. 

The initial sketch, although rough, represents an Honor Guard from the modern day War on Terror. The eight inch tall sketch was enough to get a green light to create the life size version. Since my clients were familiar with my work it wasn’t necessary to create a small maquette or more detailed 2D renderings. Generally, these are necessary before beginning a large sculpture in order to illustrate how the finished artwork would look.

Before I began the full size clay original I studied the “inspiration photo” for posture and general anatomy as well as how the uniform fit the soldier. The photo was also heavily referenced throughout the claying up process for accuracy and was initially provided to me by a member of the planning committee at AVP. Since there are always questions that arise during the process having this handy was essential.

I also received the jacket, trousers, gloves, shoes, cap as well as a replica firearm in the mail from the same committee member. A model was hired to pose in the uniform, photos were taken in-the-round and I began work. After five weeks and 200 hours of careful clay modeling the 5’ 10” tall sculpture was completed. 

There are some artists who have told me that this sculpture is too technical. Or that it doesn’t leave enough room for interpretation. For me, I get satisfaction when there is less margin for error and perhaps even less room for expression in a sculpture. In my mind, if you can pull off a very strict pose and give the sculpture energy, life and maybe even make it identifiable to your past works then you have success. 

For a more detailed description of the process from finished clay to bronze casting please visit my YouTube video. This video highlights the bronze casting process under five minutes using another of my sculptures.

Below are photos of the sculpture in various stages of completion.