Update 2/20/2025: If you are in the LA area, we hope you'll attend the dedication next week, February 26th at 10am.
"I wish to take this time to thank everyone who has made the Cerritos Tribute to Public Safety a success. We could not have created this memorial plaza without every member of our team. The professionalism, expertise, and dedication to quality that each individual brings are integral to every aspect of the project. From the subgrade work that will remain unseen, to the hand-painted engravings on the stone and the final wax application on the bronze, we rely on our team to bring our designs to life exactly as they were envisioned. We are incredibly proud to present this beautiful space, a testament to the combined efforts of all involved. It stands as a tribute to those who uphold safety within our communities—an exceptional group of individuals who are forever deserving of our admiration and gratitude.
Our gratitude is also extended to the City of Cerritos for the opportunity to create this tribute plaza for its community. Several city staff and council members have supported our efforts to bring this design to life. Having worked with the City of Cerritos for over 25 years, placing dozens of sculptures within the city’s impressive public art program, we consider this project one of our most significant. It is an honor to commemorate and highlight the LA County Sheriff and Fire Departments, as well as to memorialize the fallen detectives and K-9 Officer Jack. We are equally honored to create a space to remember those who lost their lives during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. The final elements of our design are set to be installed in the coming weeks. We hope that everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to return to this space once it is complete and find moments of respite and remembrance whenever they are needed. To bring this plaza to fruition, we have collaborated with a team spanning coast to coast. The stone elements were quarried and executed in Vermont; the design, artwork, and coordination were led from Colorado; and the landscape, hardscape, and installation were carried out by a skilled team from California. A collaborative process always leads to a grander statement, and this plaza is a testament to that." - Alyson Kinkade, Assistant Director, National Sculptors' Guild As the Guild's Director, John Kinkade, always says, 'Sculpture is a Team Sport.' We are especially proud of this team for their collaboration and dedication in bringing this project to life...
Update 2/18/2025: Last week's rain really helped to establish the new sod and our landscaping team AW Professional Gardening and Landscaping were able to give the sod a mow, install the lighting fixtures and plant the beds, including the Iceland Roses in the 9/11 Memorial. This greenery adds so much to the overall design for the upcoming dedication.
Update 2/14/2025: After two days rain finally stopped enough to remove the plastic and let the site dry off before our landscaping team AW Professional Gardening and Landscaping plants and installs the light fixtures next week. The bronze figures are veiled until the dedication. A bit austere for now.
Update 2/12/2025: We've just installed the granite memorials (in the rain). They look great and the structure of the design is really developing with this addition. Here are a few images from the installation. Each block weighs approximately 700lbs. Special thanks to our team of the day: Ricky and crew from Advanced Aquatics Technology, Anthony from Capital Crane Services, Raffaele and Antonio from The New Venetian, and Alyson from the National Sculptors' Guild.
Update 1/27/2025: Today the bronze sculptures by Gary Alsum are being installed. Our team includes Advanced Aquatics Technology, Capital Crane Services and John Kinkade from the National Sculptors' Guild.)
Update 1/20/24: Meanwhile, in Vermont, our second order of granite memorials and walls are being fabricated using the age-old process of pulling huge blocks from the quarry, rough cutting, followed by precision shaping to scale, a 7-step polishing series, engraving then hand painting the engraved lettering. Pictured is one of the memorials ready to crate and send to California. Thank you Rock of Ages and The New Venetian for putting together a beautiful product in record time.
Update 11/27/24: AW Professional Gardening and Landscaping uncovered many surprises when hand-digging out the tree wells. The selected trees are going to look great once planted, but we need more space for their roots before that can happen.
Update 10/31/2024: The structural footings for the artwork and concrete plaza/walkways are in. Tree grates have been placed as well. Thanks Advanced Concrete Specialists! Next our landscaping team from AW Professional Gardening and Landscaping will get some time on the site.
Update 9/4/24: Gary Alsum's sculptures have been finished with a deep golden patina at Bronze Services of Loveland, They look incredible and ready to ship to California once crated at Shipper's Supply Custom Pack.
Update 6/24/2024: The site is taking shape! Forms have been constructed by Advanced Concrete Specialists to prepare for concrete to go in. It's very exciting to see this progress on something we've been planning for so long!
Update 5/17/2024: We've hit a MAJOR roadblock - one the Guild has not experienced in over 30 years of creating public art placements, our stone order was never started despite ordering with money-down in June 2022. We've been in regular communications with this company, and they repetitively assured us of progression and timeline. It was set to ship this week, and we just learned from a new person taking over after a bankruptcy, the first we heard of anything. The new management reviewed the order number and it was never started and we're likely not getting our money back since they didn't even notify us of the bankruptcy. We feel bamboozled from a company we've had success with in the past on multiple other orders since 2008. The walls were to be shipped in the next week after in-person approval, and installed before the end of March. We've already broken ground, the walls were to go in next, before any other site work. Brainstorming to follow...
Update 3/20/2024: Our Landscape Construction Plans are being reviewed, once signed off we can break ground! Several requests from the city have been incorporated in a change order, the overall design remains true to our initial vision for the memorial plaza.
Update 2/28/2024: Bronze Services Foundry has done a phenomenal job finishing the bronze, Gary Alsum's sculptures are ready for patina and we're one step closer to seeing these placed at the City of Cerritos, California later this year.
Update 8/23/2023: Nothing to lose your head about, it’s just moving day to the mold-maker. The high temps made us wait a few extra days to transport the clay.
Gary Alsum's Special Enforcement Bureau sculpture for our Tribute to Public Safety Plaza has entered the next stage of creating the master mold, then will continue on with the lost-wax process of cast bronze. 
Update 8/4/2023:
Gary Alsum's Special Enforcement Bureau sculpture for our Tribute to Public Safety Plaza has been completed in clay and approved by the city. It's on it's next stage of creating the master mold, then will continue on with the lost-wax process of cast bronze. The commissioners were particularly pleased by the amount of detail Gary has captured in the uniforms and characteristics of the officers. The K9 depicted is "Jack" a revered Belgian Malinois that was lost in the line of duty in 2022. "K9 Jack saved numerous lives and courageously protected members of the Bureau during countless tactical operations." -LA Sheriff Robert Luna Three of Gary's bronze monuments are part of a larger composition that our design team developed. The Tribute to First Responders plaza includes a Department Memorial and 9/11 Memorial and components that honor today's officers. We are always honored to be part of honoring first responders, and are really looking forward to seeing this project realized for the dedicated department members. 
Update 4/3/2023: We're continuing to work with the city to approve all the engravings.
This project has more language included than most of our projects, we are including the Sheriff's Department Motto, the Fire Department's Motto, A poem for reflection on the 9/11 memorial and the names of fallen detectives on the Sheriff's memorial. The title and insignia will also be included. That's a lot of letters to triple check before it's literally set in stone!
Update 2/1/2023: The recently approved enlargement of the Female Deputy Officer has begun the casting process. Images show wax has been pulled from the mold, ready to transform into bronze. She's already looking great!
 Back to the Drawing Board
Update 1/11/2023: It has been decided by the City that the K-9 unit should memorialize the community's beloved fallen officer, K-9 Jack, and additional tactical gear to be worn by the K-9 handler. New source reference images are being sent to help artist Gary Alsum rework the sculpture. This change adds a few more months to the schedule, but we are pleased to be able to honor such an important part of the Sheriff's department.
K-9 Jack was a revered Belgian Malinois that was lost in the line of duty in 2022. "K9 Jack saved numerous lives and courageously protected members of the Bureau during countless tactical operations." -LA Sheriff Robert Luna 
Update: 1/5/2023
Things are progressing on the Tribute to Public Safety project for the City of Cerritos. Gary Alsum's fire fighter casting is nearing completion at Bronze Services Foundry. Not to worry, he'll get that helmet on. Certain elements on the sculpture have been customized to match LA County badges and gear. This sculpture just needs that helmet to be welded and metal chased and its ready for patina.. 
Update 12/11/2022: We've drawn up the landscape plans with help from Diaz Landscape Architecture so that site work can soon commence.
As we designed, the overall 51-ft x 54-ft site will include: Three Bronze Monuments; 9/11 Memorial; Department Memorial. 7-ft x 16-ft Tribute Wall with engraving of Plaza Title, City Insignia, Department Badges and quotation; 4-ft x 12-ft East Wall with two engraved quotations; Concrete Plaza; Lights; Flag Pole, White Roses. Decompressed Granite area with Bosque of Trees.
Update 5/26/2022:
The Hardscape Design Elements have been refined and the stone is ordered. Lettering will be etched into several tons of granite for this placement.  NSG Director John Kinkade creating the model to be presented to the city
2/18/2022: You may not realize, but monumental placements start small. On this one, we went REAL SMALL. John created a model of the site with our proposed layouts for the city to choose from.
We've just been approved on our design for the City of Cerritos' First Responders Plaza which will be located in front of the Sheriff's Department. Our design team is transforming the 2500 sq ft lawn into an artful gathering space that honors first responders. Three monumental bronze sculptures by NSG's Gary Alsum will be the focal point of our Tribute to Public Safety. Granite walls will be adorned by quotes and insignia. A memorial will be placed to pay tribute to the city's fallen officers. And a Bosque of Trees forms a nurturing space to house the new 9/11 memorial. The entire site becomes a piece of art. We are really pleased with the design and how this will enhance the community. We are looking forward to sharing the process here, stay tuned.
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JK Design/NSGJK Designs’ Principal, John Kinkade, founded the National Sculptors’ Guild in 1992 with a handful of sculptors who wished to find thoughtful public applications for their work. Representation has since grown to over 20 contracted sculptors and painters; plus an extended network of 200+ artists that our design team works with on a regular basis to meet each project's unique needs. click here for a list of our over 500 large-scale placements. Archives
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