#113, Winters Express article

Master Swimmer, 72in x 108in x 36in, bronze, concrete and glass, 2016, property of City of Fort Collins, CO

Front page article that came out near my hometown in Winters, CA- December 31, 2015

Colorado statue modeled after Winters High School graduate

Former Winters resident and public art sculptor Sutton Betti completed a bronze monument titled "Master Swimmer" for an ice and aquatics facility in northern Colorado. The statue was modeled after the artist's brother Morgan Fjord, a 2009 Winters High School graduate and swimmer, following his first Full Ironman competition in 2014 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

The sculpture project unofficially began in September 2014 after Betti was contacted by a Fort Collins, CO resident and former Colorado State University professor Dr. George Thornton. A man who at the age of 73 tried to set a Guinness World Record as the oldest person to swim the English Channel on June 24, 2013. Unfortunately hypothermia set in half way through and Thornton had to halt his swim after 9 hours, 18 minutes, and 52 seconds in the 57-degree water.

Dedicated to swimming and to the city of Fort Collins pool and ice facility where he trains at, Thornton decided that he would like to commission and donate a large scale bronze statue. Fortunately for Dr. Thornton Colorado is home to many of the nations most accomplished bronze sculptors and he had, at his fingertips, a "pool" of artists to choose from. After a few interviews he chose Colorado resident and former California native Sutton Betti. Betti had accomplished several large scale monuments and a contract was made between Thornton, the city of Fort Collins and the artist in 2015.

The monument consists of a 200 pound bronze swimmer that is reinforced with 150 pounds of stainless steel spanning the length of the bronze statue and is held up by two large reinforced concrete columns, each weighing 1000 pounds each. On top of each column is 3/4" thick turquoise colored glass that is designed to indicate the level of the water in relation to the swimmer and two concrete caps. 

The statue is located in front of Edora Pool Ice Center, known as EPIC, which is the regions premier ice and aquatics facility with an indoor 50-meter x 25-yard pool and two indoor 200' x 85' ice surfaces.

"This was a wonderful project to have been involved in and I couldn't be happier with how well the sculpture turned out. Since I was given so much freedom in design, I wanted my brother to be the model" said the artist.

The statue took eight months to create and was installed on December 9. The total budget for the project was $40,000 paid for by the Thornton Family Foundation. Helping with the installation is Winters resident and the artist's mother Carolyn Fjord.

#112, James Dean bust

James Dean, plaster 18 inches height, 2015

60 years after the death of James Dean, he is still regarded as an icon and with 2015 being the 60th anniversary of his death I decided to make this life size bust that will eventually get cast in bronze. 

When I was young I used to watch James Dean movies and study photographs of him. He was such a unique, beautiful person and I remember trying to figure out what made him so alluring, so different. This was a few years before I began listening to Elvis Presley's music and playing the guitar. I will never forget the day when I was 16 years old I became discouraged that I couldn't sound like him. My mom saw me really upset and told me something along the lines of "Why do you want to be Elvis or James Dean when you get to be YOU". We had a long discussion and argument about this but those words stuck with me over all these years. From this moment onwards I started to look for my own talents and tried to build on them rather than trying to be like someone else. 

The James Dean bust I sculpted was inspired by the film East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause. He is wearing a collared shirt under a sweater, one that he wore often in East of Eden, and I wanted his expression to be calm yet with the unique glare that he often had in the few movies he made. A glare that seemed to speak volumes. The bust is 18 inches tall and is currently cast in plaster. 

#111, Master Swimmer installation

Master Swimmer, bronze and concrete, ©2015 Sutton Betti Sculptures

Last Wednesday we permanently installed my bronze and concrete sculpture titled Master Swimmer in front of EPIC (Edora Pool and Ice Center). The 1 ton sculpture is not yet completed as there will be (2) 3/4" turquoise colored glass and (2) concrete "caps" that will sit on top of the large columns shown in the photo. Final completion should be around the end of this year when the glass is completed.

EPIC is the regions premier ice and aquatics facility and has an indoor 50-meter x 25-yard pool as well as two indoor 200 foot x 85 foot ice surface and serves the entire community with a variety of programs, classes, events and activities.

The sculpture was a gift by George Thornton to the city of Fort Collins. The unique design came about as my client didn't want the traditional "museum mount", which is stainless steel rods connecting the bronze to the base so I had to come up with different solutions. After about a week of designing and drawing I met with George to show him my concepts. The approved design consists of two 1/2 ton columns cast in colored concrete (to mimic sandstone) and glass sandwiched in between each of the columns to indicate the level of the water. The model for this sculpture was my brother, good job Mo!!

#110, Sleeping Child relief

Although busy with large scale work, I have been finding the time to complete some relief sculptures. This 9 inches x 11 inches aluminum casting is of a sleeping child and is a commission that I needed to have done for Christmas. I decided to keep the textures and edges loose which gets your eye to focus on the child face. The patina is done with various chemicals also helping to create a focal point using  dark outer edges and lighter center area.

#109, Hoag patina

Amidst all of the chaos between two big projects, I got to find some peace of mind working with Art Castings of Colorado on the patina of Frank Hoag, Jr. This is the stage it is in now which only has liver of sulfur applied and rubbed back in select areas. On Monday, we will be completing the patina using ferric nitrate followed by lacquer and wax.

#108, Frank Hoag, Jr. monument

This 6' 8" bronze statue of the founder of Pueblo Community College will be installed on campus in the next week or two. I began work on the sculpture of Frank Hoag, Jr. earlier this year and it is now starting to come to a close. The patina is scheduled for next week.

Mr. Hoag, who died in 1989, was not only one of the schools main founders but was publisher and editor of The Chieftain and its afternoon sister publication, the Star-Journal. A graduate of Princeton University, he saw the need for higher education in his hometown and helped to start the college in 1933.

#107, Master Swimmer monument

By far, THE most difficult project I have done is this sculpture going to a pool and ice center in Northern Colorado. But I am confident that this will be a nice sculpture once it is all finished. The life size statue of a swimmer will be held up by two concrete columns about 6 feet tall. Sandwiched in between is 1 inch thick blue/green glass that will represent water. The major hurdles have been how to engineer this thing without making installation impossible. After back and forth between three engineers three separate times, we have finally come up with something that isn't too bad. This monument has definitely tested my patience, but it is starting to shape up nicely.