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Statue looms larger than life By PAUL FATTIG MailTribune.com By PAUL FATTIG Posted Mar. 5, 1998 @ 2:00 am Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 7:31 AM By PAUL FATTIG Posted Mar. 5, 1998 @ 2:00 am Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 7:31 AM » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Enlarged from model, work honoring veterans will be dedicated July 4 ASHLAND -- Richard Olney stepped back to contemplate the 10-foot-tall soldier statue clad in olive drab clay. I think Bruce would approve -- I would hope so, the professional enlarger observed of his just-completed first major solo project. Olney, 53, is the protege of the late Bruce Hoheb, an Ashland artist who died last year at 67. For eight years, the two had been partners in the unique art of enlarging maquettes -- small models -- into full-sized clay statues to be bronzed. The statue, titled Cradle of Liberty, is of a military corpsman holding a baby wrapped in a flag from the American Revolutionary War. It's scheduled to be trucked today to a foundry in Berkeley, Calif., to begin a bronzing process expected to take 12 weeks. Commissioned by a veterans group, it will be placed in Shoup Park in Los Altos, Calif. Dedication is set for July 4. I'm not really an artist -- I'm more in the background helping artists, Olney cautioned. Nonsense, responded R.J. Truman, the Los Altos sculptor who created the model and will complete the bronze process. Richard does incredible, wonderful work, she said, noting he used his own unique style to create a 1,000-pound enlargement that captured the spirit of her 13-inch model. This is meant to be a healing memorial for all veterans, said Truman, 40, a distant cousin to the late President Harry S. Truman. It's intended to make people think about war. Truman's sculpture did just that, said Bill Henderson, 75, co-chairman of the Veterans Memorial Association of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. Our objectives were to have a statue without any of the paraphernalia of war, but would speak to the idea of freedom, democracy and devotion to duty, said Henderson, a Navy survivor of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Truman, one of 40 sculptors nationwide competing for the project, was awarded the $80,000 contract last spring. The veterans group, whose honorary committee includes retired Adm. James Stockdale and former Secretary of State George Shulz, raised more than $100,000 in donations to pay for the project. The statue will be erected in a park containing a grove of redwoods, Henderson said. We wanted it to go to a serene spot where people can rest and contemplate, he said. Back in Ashland, weapons of war were on Olney's mind as he worked on the project. Although he isn't a veteran, his older brother, John, was an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam. John crossed my mind several times as I was working on this, he said. He crashed two helicopters over there, and lived through both crashes. This makes you think about things like that, he added. You think about all the people whose names are on the wall. He was referring to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., which lists the names of Americans killed in Vietnam. Hoheb, former head of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's reproductions staff, worked on the Vietnam memorial as well as the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. The last major project Hoheb and Olney completed together was a 1,500-pound enlargement of an Olympic gymnast for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He taught me everything I know, said Olney, who retained the name Hoheb Studios in honor of its founder. Using a special enlarging machine the two created to take exact measurements of sculptures, Olney began by making a metal frame, then added plywood, construction insulation foam and finally oil-based clay. Truman will make some artistic adjustments as she puts on the finishing touches during the bronzing process, he said. She (Truman) did a such good job of coming up with something to honor people who have served, not to glorify war, he said. To get the statue into a van, Olney carefully took it apart. It's been seven days a week, 10-12 hours a day to get it done in time, he said. I'd like to have another week to work on it but it has to be down there this week. Meanwhile, he has bids out for other projects, including one of baseball great Willie Mays in San Francisco and an 18-foot statue for a city in Michigan. I'll probably go to work for a friend of mine building houses until I get another contract, he said. But I'll never quit doing this. (Call reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at ) By PAUL FATTIG MailTribune.com By PAUL FATTIG Posted Mar. 5, 1998 @ 2:00 am Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 7:31 AM » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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