June, 2004

This month marks my 31st year of involvement in sculpture and art foundry. As is typical, these milestones are times to reflect on the past and make plans for the future. The recent tumultuous political and economic events have had a great impact on AZB's recent past and plans for the future.

As we are all aware, beginning with the events of September 11, 2001, through the stock market downturn, the buildup to the war in Iraq, the war in Iraq and now the stabilization of that country, many changes have taken place which have impacted art, sculpture and ultimately, the art foundry.

Arizona Bronze has successfully weathered most of this storm, but the reality is that the downturn in the economy has adversely affected the entire industry. Several long established art foundries have closed their doors, including the Johnson Atelier in Mercerville, NJ, one of the largest in the country. Several smaller facilities have closed and most have downsized.

These business realities have caused me to rethink my plans for our new facility. I am, and always have been, a huge risk taker … but given the present situation, AZB will delay, for now, the decision to build a new facility.

On a more positive note, AZB has continued to produce some really great projects. We recently completed the official life-size portrait of "Secretariat" for Ed Bogucki of Racine, Wisconsin. The sculpture will be placed at the Lexington Horse Park, Lexington, KY and was commissioned by Penny Chenery, the owner of Secretariat.

AZB also recently completed a 16 ft. sculpture for Bob Wick, Sierra Vista, AZ, titled "Spring", which was placed at his new custom designed home and a 20 ft. custom "Cross" for Studio Productions here in Tempe.

Our biggest news is the completion of the 25' l x 16' h x 15' w, "Whale" for a multinational corporation's theme park being constructed in Hong Kong. As well, we are completing monumental castings of all their "characters" depicted in water related activities for a large scale entry fountain to the theme park. The main title character is riding a 10 ft. long surfboard on the spout of the whale and will rise 20 ft. on a hydraulic cylinder when the water is turned on.

Other upcoming projects include the "Warrior of the North" a 1 ½ x life-size figurative sculpture of my own creation for Grand Forks Air Force Base, Grand Forks, ND, "CEO" a 1 ¼ x life-size Glenna Goodacre sculpture, "Rearing Back" a 12 ft. l x 6 ft. h x 3 ft. d sculpture for Ed Mell of Phoenix, AZ, "St. Peter", a 1 ¼ x life-size figure for Studio Productions of Tempe, AZ, "St. Michael" a 6 ft x 3 ft relief and a 7 ft. "Jesus" for Mikael Sogoian of Moscow, Russia. As well, we will be producing two additional 1 ¼ x life-size figures for Glenna Goodacre, the "Contractor" and the "Developer" from her "Sidewalk Society" sculpture.

In other news, Patrick Bollinger, AZB Photographer is leaving to return to Santa Fe, where he will continue to offer photographic services and Melissa Reese is moving on to a full time photography studio in Scottsdale, AZ. We wish them both luck and all our best!

Other exciting news includes our new resin bonded sand casting space, which includes a 60 ft l x 25 ft. w x 20 ft. h bridge crane with two traveling beams. We also now have on line a Castec 400 continuous sand mixer to better meet the needs of our clients for large scale castings. We can cast up to 30 sq/ft in one mold for projects with form that allows the use of the process.

Thanks to all of our clients who continue to use our services, please contact me for estimates on any of your new projects.

All my best,

Tom Bollinger
Managing Owner
Arizona Bronze Fine Arts Atelier