The primary focal point of the entry are two simple, elegant sculptures by National Sculptors' Guild fellow Kathleen Caricof on each side of the main drive approaching the vehicular gateway  of the Coronado Yacht Club in California. Each side of the drive features a marble sculpture. On the East is an abstract depiction of a sailboat, while to the West is an abstracted motor boat.  
The forms and line of each relate and complement each other providing a graceful presence to the CYC entry. Each representing a primary portion of the Coronado Yacht Club Membership. Through the use of the iconic imagery of boats we bring recognition to all of the major clubs; “Sail Fleet”, “Cruise Fleet” and “Rod & Reel” and identify the club to the greater community. 
“Setting Sail” is a bronze, marble and stainless steel sculpture, set on the east side of the gate. An abstraction of a sailboat, its lines are elegant & sweeping. A curve shows wind blowing into the tall slender sail.
Opposite is “Making Waves” a marble and granite abstracted motorboat. The composition shows the bow of a ship facing the viewer. The strength and power of the boat as it charges through water is felt from strong lines. Carved from Colorado Yule Marble on Black Granite with the some stainless steel elements.

This morning National Sculptors' Guild placed Jane DeDecker's bronze sculpture 'On the Count of Three' at the Seeley Drive roundabout in La Quinta, California. Further landscaping will follow.

​Traversing a roundabout, we experience art for an instant.  We drive away and the impression stays with us. The proposed design reflects on the setting and activities of this site. Focusing on Health, Vitality, Family and Community, each passing of the sculpture shall fuel and regenerate the viewer; with emphasis on positive interaction for families and friends that speaks to multiple generations with universal appeal.  The sculpture depicting young parents in sync, holding hands through their child and enjoying the child’s joy of momentary flight has added features sculpted in the wax-phase specific to this area of LaQuinta, a picnic basket, a bouquet of California Poppies and a puppy. The gestural movement elegantly echoes the pace of the world we live in. 

The National Sculptors' Guild has recently  placed Jane DeDecker's "On the Count of Three" in Pleasanton, CA. The life-sized bronze depicting a mother and father swinging their child between them by the hands was a gift to the city from the Harrington Art Partnership. NSG has worked with the Harrington's on several placements throughout the city for many years; the couple continues to elevate the city with art and have received a number of accolades including the Mayor's Award, and Couple of the Year. We're pleased to be part of positive moments in communities like this. NSG#454

Kathleen Caricof's design was selected by the City of San Luis Obispo for their 9/11 Memorial.

A 10-foot steel I-beam from the World Trade Center will become a central piece of a public art project at San Luis Obispo’s main fire station. The beam, recovered from the mangled rubble left when the twin towers fell, will be transformed from a symbol of devastation into a work of art honoring the fallen.

“Standing Tall,” pays tribute to the 403 emergency workers who died while helping others try to escape the World Trade Center towers before they fell. Tall metal posts — 343 firefighters represented by reddish/rusted steel and 60 police officers represented by blue anodized aluminum — will be embedded in an arc around the circular plaza. All 403 posts will be embedded in  two concrete bases that follow the arc of the circular plaza. These bases will be low allowing the sculptural posts to be the main visual impact. The different colored posts will be randomly interspersed with each other, adding greater visual interest while referring to the fact that regardless of what hat the first responders wore, they died together.

The I-beam is prominently displayed at the center of the plaza, with a single large redwood bench positioned in front of the I-beam, where the viewer can sit and contemplate. 

Congrats to Greg Hebert Landscape Architect for making the cover of San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles and being awarded 2015 Garden of the Year. The National Sculptors' Guild is proud to have been a part of this project. 

We always jump at the chance of working with Greg Hebert who has been part of many of our design teams over the years. We had the privilege to work on the project which awarded Greg Hebert Landscape Architect with the San Diego Home and Garden 2015 Garden of the Year and landed the cover of SDHG Lifestyles Magazine. 
Designed by Greg Hebert Landscape Architect and the design team of Parker Piner Construction and Paul Allen Design. 
The courtyard features artwork by National Sculptors' Guild members CT Whitehouse (Sun Moon Fountain) and Mark Leichliter (Pas de Deux). Additional NSG sculptures are found throughout the house.  See more here... 
#GardenOfTheYear #GHLA #GardenArt #Whitehouse #Leichliter #Rambadt 

Another recent successful public art placement by the National Sculptors' Guild... we installed Fellow Dee Clements’ “Journey to Market” on June 23rd in Bellflower, California.

The Pacific Electric Railway made a big impact on Bellflower with Jotham Bixby’s granting the right of way to the go through the Somerset Ranch. Journey to Market is a sculpture of a handcart similar to those used at the rail stations throughout California during the early 1900’s. A Californio adds another milk can onto the cart while a young boy sits atop a stack of luggage waiting for the next train. Included on the cart are boxes of items produced in Bellflower and sent to Los Angeles such as 'Bellefleur', eggs, milk cartons and Bellefleur apples that were grown by pioneer settler William Gregory in the north part of town.

"Crucible of Light" by Chapel and the National Sculptors' Guild - a unique steel and natural stone 14ft high sculpture commissioned by the City of South San Francisco, CA - installed at the Community Center August 20. ©2009, all rights reserved

Update 2003-Present: More recent images show nature's changes made to the sculpture's patinas following area wildfires. We wish everyone safety when these unfortunate fires spark up. The beauty of the art, the land, and the people prevail.

Update November 2000: Our design team won the 2000 Orchid Award from the San Diego Architectural Foundation for the Barona Casino Entry!!
THE SDAF ORCHID

• Exemplifies good place making, i.e. it is a functional and memorable place or space to be
• Contributes to its surrounding context and adds to community character
• Skillfully and thoughtfully detailed and crafted – showing respect for materials and the community
• Expresses something relevant to our time and place – San Diego, 2019 as well as its function
• Provides social and economic benefit to San Diegans
• Encourages social interaction or a quiet moment
• Elicits a sense of civic pride
• Is technologically or environmentally innovative
• Supports community building

Orchids & Onions is an educational and fundraising program of the San Diego Architectural Foundation, a 501(c)3, nonprofit organization dedicated to education and the promotion of outstanding architecture, planning and urban design throughout the San Diego region.

Update March 1998: The Barona Band of Mission Indians commissioned the National Sculptors’ Guild to design an entry honoring their living and deceased elders. “The Greeters” was ceremonially blessed and dedicated on March 5, 1998 in Lakeside, California. 
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The design and creation of this monumental statement took the team over a year to plan and execute. The sculptures were placed in August of 1997, and the environmental sculpture and plantings  were finalized in early 1998. This placement follows a previous commission by the Barona Tribe, a Veteran’s memorial that the National Sculptors’ Guild and Denny Haskew dedicated in 1996 - "He Who Fights With a Feather"

The Barona are incredibly generous, both collectively and individually, everyone we met were generous with wisdom and nurturing of the future; working with the Tribe has been a highlight for each member of the design team. Learn about their philanthropic efforts

A large-scale art placement was created for the Barona Band of Mission Indians by the NSG design team: Denny Haskew, lead artist; John W. Kinkade, JK Designs, Principal; Greg Hebert Landscape Architect; and Beaver Curo, representative of the Barona Tribe.

The entry statement includes multiple sculptures intermixed with earthworks. The rim of a basket emerging from the earth planted with native grasses as a backdrop for sculptures of stone and bronze. Patterning of the landscaping is derived from the Tribe's traditional basket weaving designs. Oak trees that were the sustenance of previous generations connect the earth to the sky.  The monumental sculptures, "Respect all that is Natural", "Observe Nature", "Give of Yourself", "Love Song" and "Trail of Forgiveness", are visible as one traverses the 200-foot diameter site, welcoming visitors to the the Barona Resort & Casino. The sculptures represent all Tribal people, the very young and the elderly, as well as the unborn children who represent the future.

Haskew's sculptures are a combination of bronze and monolithic Dakota sandstone that stand 8- to 13-feet high and weigh 7 to 10 tons each. Emerging from the face of each stone are bronze figurative elements. Haskew has developed a special patina technique to match the unique variations of the stone.  The sculpted forms depict an old man, a child, a young mother, a flute player and an old woman. Each has symbolic significance.  In his dedication speech Haskew advised that the eagle feather held by the old man is an admonition to “respect all that is natural.  That’s everything, all of us . . . . All of life.”  The child points her finger to the landscape of the Barona reservation and gives the admonition to “observe nature.” Honoring all the mothers before and after her, the young mother lifts a clay pot that she has made to honor Mother Nature and all mothers “who give of themselves,” Haskew said. 

• Respect All that is Natural: The old man holds his prayer feather and blesses this new valley. Respect all that is natural and be one with this new place.

• Observe Nature: The young child points to her new valley. Observe nature, she says. We honor all the small children forced to move from their homes to this new valley.
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• Give of Yourself: A woman holds her handmade pottery and tells the viewer: Give of yourself in this new place that we all may prosper. This sculpture honors all the women who had to leave their homes and gardens for a new valley. -Denny Haskew

The final sculptural element is of an old woman with her hands lifted in prayer.  “A lot of bad things . . . have happened to Native People over the last 200, 300, 400 years,” said Haskew knowingly as a member of Oklahoma’s Citizen Potawatomi Nation. “That Grandmother back there is saying it’s time to find a new trail, a trail of forgiveness.” Her wisdom is imperative for the world's future generations.

The Barona are incredibly generous, both collectively and individually, everyone we met were generous with wisdom and nurturing of the future; working with the Tribe has been a highlight for each member of the design team. Learn about their philanthropic efforts here.

The National Sculptors' Guild placed sculptor Bill Bond's "Crocodile Dandy" in Mountain View, California in 1996. The fun depiction of two kids enjoying a ride on the back of a crocodile, umbrella and all, can be enjoyed outside the Middlefield VTA light rail station.

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#NationalSculptorsGuild #PublicArt #NSG #BillBond #Figurative #Wildlife #Bronze #CrocodileDandy  #California #SculptureIsATeamSport #ArtistDriven #ClientMinded

The first of several monumental art placements commissioned by the Barona Band of Mission Indians was "He Who Fights with a Feather" by Denny Haskew and the National Sculptors' Guild. 

This composition was first introduced as a maquette in the 1995 Red Earth Invitational in Oklahoma City where it won First Prize. 

The Barona Band of Mission Indians in Lakeside, California sponsored the enlargement in 1996. The project included the landscape design of a garden courtyard featuring all of the historical basket making plant materials used by the reservation. Our design team received an AIA Orchid award. Among other awards, it was selected as the cover image of the "Indian Gaming Magazine", "Paradigm", and "Explore Indian Country".


"He Who Fights with a Feather" pays tribute to the many veterans, especially our Native American veterans, who have fought and sacrificed for our country. The tombstone pays tribute to those who have died in this sacrifice. The kneeling Native American weeps for those persons who are now gone. He reaches for the comfort of Mother Earth with his outstretched hand. Behind stands a symbol of Hope. There may be life after this life that those fallen warriors are now enjoying, there is life now that is filled with the freedom we enjoy from their sacrifices. She lays an eagle feather on his shoulder to show that all creatures of the earth stand with him in his sadness and wish for a peaceful world for all that live in the four directions. It is unlike other Veteran's memorials in that it comments on all conflicts and speaks to every person, whether they have experienced war time or not, a true effort to eliminate misunderstandings for the future.

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#NationalSculptorsGuild #PublicArt #NSG #DennyHaskew #Figurative #Bronze #VeteransMemorial #IndeginousPeople #BaronaBandofMissionIndians #California #SculptureIsATeamSport #ArtistDriven #ClientMinded

The tombstone of the sculpture reads: 

He Who Fights With A Feather
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​This memorial pays tribute to the Native Americans who have fought and sacrificed in the many conflicts that our government has chosen to participate.

The kneeling man reaches to Mother Earth in search of strength and comfort.

Behind him stands a symbol of Hope, touching his shoulder with an eagle feather, she conveys hope and understanding for a time when conflict may be solved more peacefully.

With honor and respect for all beings.

Sculptor, Denny Haskew

"Snapshot" by Jane DeDecker and the National Sculptors' Guild was placed in Oxnard, California in 1995. 

​Snapshot was originally commissioned by Michael Jackson, The multi-figure bronze depicts a number of children ready for the camera, sitting on a bench with a wagon pulled up to one side; the kids are in a casual pose, enjoying a respite from summer play, holding toys and drinking a soda. It even includes the pouting kid in the back - not wanting to be pictured as often happens. The piece is universal even though it was inspired by photos Jackson gave DeDecker. 

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​The National Sculptors' Guild placed Fellow Jane DeDecker's "Jungle Gym" in Oxnard, California in 1995.

​The 125% life-size multi-figurative bronze features five-children at play on a jungle gym, with a dog eager to join in the fun at the laces of one of the kids. The piece is a reminder of simpler days of play in parks and schools. 

The sculpture measures 11ft tall, 15ft wide, 5ft deep. Purchased by the City of Oxnard, California.

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The Desert Holocaust Memorial remains one of the National Sculptors' Guild's most important placements. We are so honored to be a part of this historic memorial that has provided a space for remembrance, education, and healing for people around the world since its placement in Palm Desert, California in 1995. ​

As you approach the Desert Holocaust Memorial, you see a circular row of trees. These trees represent life outside of the enclosed fence of the concentration camps. At the entry to the memorial you will see a bronze plaque which gives a chronology of the systematic deprivation by law of the civil rights, jobs, property and life of “non-Aryans” by the Nazi party. Inside the history pedestal is buried an urn containing the verified names of 12,000 Righteous Gentiles who hid or assisted those condemned by Nazi regime during the years of the Holocaust.

At the heart of the memorial are seven larger than life bronze figures representing the people and different aspects of the Holocaust. The standing man is intended to be defiant and accusing. He in part represents the resistance of the Jews and others that fought the Nazi tyranny. (Note the left forearm on this man bears the number tattooed on a local Holocaust survivor.)

The other figures are of a mother with two children begging for mercy, a boy from the ghetto, a rabbi praying, and finally the figure behind the group, a man alone, silent, dying. His death represents bigotry, ignorance, and hatred taken to its inevitable end.

The faces and representations at the memorial were taken from actual photographic and news footage researched by the artist's team at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.

The seven bronze figures are mounted on a double-tiered Star of David 20 feet across. The block granite is etched with a map of Europe indicating the location of the many concentration camps as well as the number of persons who perished.

The cobblestone and light standards are replicas of those at Auschwitz. Placed between the light posts are eleven bas reliefs telling the story of the Holocaust. A plaque located adjacent to each details the specific scene represented.
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This memorial includes extensive provisions for educating people of all ages, races, and religions about the period of the Holocaust. It is a lesson about denial of basic civil rights. The monument memorializes lost parents, children, loved ones, and millions of innocent people. It is a place of respect, of respite, of mourning and of remembrance. It is also a monument of hope — hope that we can overcome bigotry and live among diversity in peace. -Desert Holocaust Committee.

Passing it Along by Dee Clements, National Sculptors' Guild placed at the Marriott Ownership Resorts in Palm Desert, California, 1993.

"PASSING IT ALONG"  is a life-size bronze sculpture depicting a young child learning the banjo from their elder.


NSG Public Art Placement 3