FO Stanley

Last night, my friend Dan and myself presented our maquette called “The Visionary” at the Stanley hotel in Estes Park, Colorado for their hedge maze sculpture competition. We ended up winning the competition and our proposed monument of FO Stanley will be located in front of the hotel in the center of the hedge maze, however we weren’t the only winners. Our two competitors also won for their designs and their sculptures will also go at the Stanley hotel grounds area in prominent locations. It is the first time that I’ve competed where all three finalists won something. It was a great feeling, especially as one of the finalists was an artist that I have a lot of admiration for. Our sculpture will be a 7 foot tall bronze statue of the man responsible for building the Stanley hotel, among his many accomplishments, Freelan Oscar Stanley. He will be holding a violin and bow (as he used to build violins) and leaning against a 55″ sandstone column that will have etched some of his accomplishments and why he came to Estes Park in 1903. Each of the three exposed sides of the column will have a relief that relates to the inscribed words. Installation is set for September 1, 2016.