First it was a bronze statue in Hungary. Now it’s a Grammy.The accolades for Steve Jobs, who died Oct 5, are still pouring in. The Recording Academy said on Wednesday it is giving the co-founder of Apple a special “Trustees Award” Grammy. The Grammys, of course, are the top honors in the U.S. music industry.

“As former CEO and co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobshelped create products and technology that transformed the way we consume music, TV, movies, and books,” the Recording Academy said in a statement.”

A creative visionary, Jobs’ innovations such as theiPod and its counterpart, the online iTunes store, revolutionized the industry and how music was distributed and purchased,” the statement added.

A formal acknowledgment of his award will be made during annual Grammy Awards ceremony on February 12 in Los Angeles.

In 2002, Apple was a recipient of a technical Grammy award for contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.

These mighty haymakers stand 60 feet high and weigh 30 tons, the largest bronze sculpture in the world. One would like to imagine that they are strong, American hands, but evangelist Oral Roberts outsourced their casting to Juarez, Mexico in 1980.

The hands were originally called “The Healing Hands” and they stood in front of Oral’s “City of Faith,” a medical center devoted to faith healing. But the City of Faith wound up on the short end of a series of lawsuits and declared bankruptcy in 1989.

The bronze sculpted hands were then moved to the entrance drive of the university. Also on the property is the Oral Roberts Prayer Tower.

The City of Faith is now known as CityPlex Towers, and it houses corporate tenants. Its central tower stands 640 feet tall, which reportedly is the same height as the Jesus who appeared to Oral in a dream and told him to build it.

A gigantic bronze statue, 30 meters high, emerges from the ground at the Potomac Park, in Washington DC, USA. Actually, the sculpture is composed of five separate pieces that create the illusion of being a single one. The Awakening is a work of art by American artist J. Seward Johnson, Jr. and has been in the park since 1980, since the International Sculpture Conference Exhibition.An interesting fact: due to the proximity to the Potomac river, sometimes the area gets completely underwater, giving an even more dramatic expression to the sculpture, that looks like a mythical Neptune struggling not to drown.

   The multi-step process of creating a bronze sculpture is delicate and often takes several months.  From the beginning process of developing an artistic idea, to the final steps of chiseling, chasing and sawing, a bronze sculpture is taken from a often just a block of clay to a piece of artwork that can be enjoyed for generations.

First, a sculptor needs an idea, whether an original idea or decided by a third party the sculptor is in charge of developing an idea and turning it into reality.  This idea is preliminary designed using oil-based clay designed for sculptors.  The beginning sculpture can also be sculpted using stoneware ceramic or sculpture wax.  The original wax creation can often take weeks or even months to tweak in a way that both the sculptor and the third party can appreciate.

When the original model is finally completed, the next step involves making a flexible silicone rubber mold so the mold can be reproduced in a wax material.  Unfortunately the original clay sculpture end up distorted or destroyed by the mold-making process.

After the mold has been completed, stripped off the original model and cleaned, a special molten sculpture wax is poured into the sculpture, sloshed around and poured back out.  This process is repeated until there is a layer of the wax about ¼ of an inch built up within the mold.  When the wax has cooled it is carefully stripped of the original sculpture.

“Devesting” is the process during which the investment is removed from the metal. Approximately one hour after the pour, the piece is cool enough to handle. Skill and strength are combined with hammers and power chisels to knock the investment off the freshly solidified metal.  The gates and spurs must also be removed with a high intensity electric arc that can cut through the bronze like butter.  The final step is to sandblast the fine investment from the bronze. When clean, the sculpture advances to the metal shop.

Once the sculpture arrives at the metal foundry it is chased, mold marks are removed and air bubbles are filled.  Metal chasing usually starts with large electric or pneumatic grinders to remove the bulk of the unwanted metal. Then, more refined and smaller tools such as die and pencil grinders are used to re-create the artist’s subtle surface texture.  Finally finishing touches are added to the completed sculpture.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking up permanent residence in Columbus — or at least an 8-foot, 800-pound bronze sculpture of him is.

The sculpture, which depicts the actor and former California governor during his 1970s bodybuilding prime, will be unveiled March 2 in front of Veterans Memorial during the Arnold Sports Festival.

The W. Broad Street location was chosen because of Schwarzenegger’s — and his show’s — long history with the venue.

“Veterans Memorial has been doing the Arnold festival since its inception, and we did bodybuilding shows before that,” said John P. Raphael, chairman of the Vets board of trustees. “It’s been a very long, positive partnership here. With a permanent statue like that, we’ll probably have that event here for a long, long time. We feel it’s the right thing to do.”

The statue was sought by officials with Franklin County, which owns Veterans Memorial.

“The (county) commissioners brought this request to me,” said Jim Lorimer, the central Ohio businessman who founded the sports festival in 1989 with his longtime friend, Schwarzenegger. Lorimer also has been presenting bodybuilding shows at Vets since 1967.

“Arnold has been coming to Columbus since 1970. This thing really cements the Arnold Sports Festival here. There’s nobody been in that facility longer than we have.”

Last year, Schwarzenegger hired an Oregon foundry to cast two of the sculptures, which are based on a 22-inch prototype created in 1980 by Idaho artist Ralph Crawford. The same sculpture is used as the model for the Arnold Classic trophy, given to the winner of the bodybuilding contest that is the basis for the sports festival.

Schwarzenegger unveiled the first sculpture on Oct. 7, in Thal, Austria, at his childhood home, which has been converted into a museum telling the story of his life.

The Columbus statue, which will be lighted, will be set somewhere on the west side of the concrete stairs that lead up to Vets, but east of the rotunda, on Broad Street.

The statue was donated to Veterans Memorial by Dr. Robert Goldman, president emeritus of the National Academy of Sports Medicine, on behalf of the International Sports Hall of Fame, which will induct Schwarzenegger into its first class at the 2012 Arnold Sports Festival.

Goldman said it took “about half a second” to decide to sponsor the statue. “It’s completely deserving. … That statue of Christopher Columbus is right down the block, so I guess he’s in pretty good company.”

Veterans Memorial is an important place for both Schwarzenegger and his old sport, said Brent LaLonde, a spokesman for Lorimer and the festival, who compared Vets to one of the shrines of the NFL. “It’s the Lambeau Field of bodybuilding,” he said, referring to the storied home of the Green Bay Packers.

In 1970, Schwarzenegger made his first visit to Columbus to compete in the Mr. World contest at Veterans Memorial, and not only beat Cuban-born bodybuilding legend Sergio Olivia for the first time, but also met and became fast friends with Lorimer.

The two men began the Arnold Sports Festival as a one-day bodybuilding competition.

Today, the event is the largest multisport festival in the nation, bringing in 18,000 athletes to compete in 45 sports, as well as 175,000 attendees. Last year, the event brought $42.4 million in visitor spending into Columbus, said Scott Peacock of Experience Columbus, the city’s convention and visitors bureau.

The sculpture “could be our Rocky statue, who knows?” Peacock said, referring to the monument immortalizing Sylvester Stallone’s character in the Rocky movies that stands at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “You would see people come to Columbus to check it out.”

“It will be a conversation piece,” Raphael said. “I would imagine people will be taking pictures next to it.”

Big Statues is releasing a limited-edition line of hand-sculpted, bronze sculptures, on a marble and walnut base.

The sculpture depicts the true essence of a Grizzly Bear fishing for a Steal Head fish, portraying the realistic action and movement of an actual bear.  The bear is elevated and supported by rocks and moving water also depicted in bronze.  Intertwined with the rocks and water are three fish, with immaculate detail, that portray the true imagery of this beautiful and unique glimpse of wildlife.

Only twenty-two sculptures have been hand sculpted and will be sold to private buyers located around the country.

The complete dimensions of each sculpture are 19 by 19 inches.

If you would like more information on how you can purchase these or other bronze works by Matt Glenn, contact big statues at 801-373-5540

“Eyebenches,” a pair of functional sculptures by Louise Bourgeois — among the most influential living artists — was placed in Lafayette Square in New Orleans on Monday. The eye-shaped metal sitting spots are the third sculptures installed as part of Michael Manjarris’ “Sculpture for New Orleans” project, an effort to bring world-class public art to the streets of the Crescent City.

Manjarris, a New Orleans native living in Texas, is a monumental sculptor in his own right. He views “Sculpture for New Orleans” as a way to help his hometown recover from the 2005 storm and flood.

Bourgeois’ “Eyebenches” joins “Me, Knife, Diamond, and Flower,” by James Surls, located outside the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and “Travelers” by Deborah Masters in Audubon Park, near St. Charles Avenue, that were installed in February. Works by Mark di Suvero and Alexander Calder are scheduled to follow.

In November 2011, Big Statues began production of a small series of bronze-statue awards to be given to companies that showed a long-term commitment to the National No-Tillage Conference and the no-till farmer. Syngenta Crop Protection and its advertising agency, Gibbs & Soell, were the first recipients of this statue for its 20-year involvement and sponsorship in the National No-Till Conference.

The 20^th-annual conference, organized by No-Till Farmer magazine and Lessiter Publications, was held Jan. 11-14 in St. Louis, Mo.

No Till Farmer and its sister publication, Conservation Tillage Guide, are properties of Brookfield, Wis.-based Lessiter Publications, which publishes several national magazines in the agriculture, equine and sports industries. The family-owned company celebrated its 30^th anniversary last year, and No-Till Farmer celebrated its 40^th anniversary in 2011.

No Till Farmer’s mission is to provide helpful tips and information for farmers interested in reducing tillage and improving the sustainability and profitability of their farms. Alice Musser, conference manager for Lessiter, commissioned Big Statues to sculpt “Oscar-like” miniature bronze sculpture awards to be given to sponsors demonstrating high levels of involvement and support with the NNTC.

The “No-Till Farmer” statue stands at 14 inches tall and is a bronze replicate of a farmer, kneeling in his crops, and holding a scoop of soil in his hands. The pose is inspired from an iconic front cover of Conservation Tillage Guide published in February 2011 — an image that is a perfect portrayal of the humble and dedicated workers in agricultural companies across America.

These bronze sculpture awards were presented Jan. 13, 2012 to Syngenta and Gibbs & Soell to show appreciation for their years of dedication and support for the conference. Lessiter Publications believes these statues will build pride and unity among organizations that are involved with the growth and success of no-till farming, and generate additional support for this effort.

Big Statues, located in Provo, Utah, is a custom bronze-sculpting company that serves clients throughout the world, and is honored to be able to create such noteworthy artwork with the wonderful people at Lessiter Publications.

With every piece of art, bronze sculptor Matt Glenn of Big Statues takes special care to recreate the individual spirit of a company and turns it into a tangible figure with amazing custom detail that can be appreciated by all.