The Big Ben Park
committee is thrilled to have Sculptor Stewart Smith as
the creator of the Big Ben Park.
Since 1974 Stewart has been carving wood, drawing, sculpting for bronze,
tooling for cast metals, designing on the computer, playing with cameras,
and looking at the landscape. Stewart's works include a series of monumental
bronzes of animals for the City of New York, a memorial portrait of Douglas
Fairbanks Jr. in Los Angeles, and numerous functional items, from harness
buckles to cast iron park furniture.
Since the Summer of 2004, he has been working very closely with the Big
Ben Park
committee, designing the base of the monument, the jump, sculpting
the original Maquette, (which can be seen below) and the life size Big Ben.
"The most exciting part of this project has been the enthusiasm and
support expressed by the equestrian community. The love for Big Ben
continues unabated," says Stewart, " and this has made the project downright
fun. While they've requested no recognition, I must note that the
sisters Ruth and Jean Abernethy have transformed the life sized sculpture
into a vibrant character that is Big Ben. Jean is an equine artist living in Georgia, USA. Jean was the
illustrator for Monty Robert's book "From My Hands to Yours." If you
Googled this title, her name would appear with Monty's in Amazon's listings.
I don't know what show jumpers think of Horse Whisperers, but it sure puts
Jean in with the best. And Ruth is a sculptor and portraiturist with a well established reputation in Canada for
her portraits of Glenn Gould and Al Waxman. Ruth lives near New
Hamburg, Ontario."
There are links to Ruth's and Jean's web sites on the
Links page.
Big Ben Park In Process - some photos...
| Maquette 1
October 2004 |
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| Maquette 2
October 2004 |
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Life Size 1 with Stewart Smith October 2004
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| Life Size 2 with Ruth and
Jean Abernethy
November 2004 |
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Life Size 3
November 2004
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Life Size 4
With Ruth and Ian Millar coming to life!
The top of Ian's head is 136" from the ground.
November 2004 |
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Life Size 5
Ian and Lynn do bridle.
December 2004 |
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Life Size 6 Stewart works on Ian.
December 2004
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