Freedom Sculpture

10/09/2026

Edgar Allan Poe Sculpture Unveiled at The Black Cat Ball 🖤

🎭 We extend our sincere gratitude to Enrica Jang, executive director; Hurst Hessey, president; and the board members of Poe Baltimore. Thank you also to the musicians and artists, the staff and the many volunteers whose efforts created the magic of this memorable evening.💫

I’ve always admired the depth of Poe’s imagination and the enduring power of his art. This gift reflects my admiration for his extraordinary legacy, and my support for the important work of Poe Baltimore in preserving it. 🖌✨

10/07/2026

Glenside sculptor Zenos Frudakis, creator of Philadelphia's Freedom, is set to build a Thomas Paine memorial near the National Mall.

10/03/2026

🖤🎭 The first day of the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival in Baltimore! 🕯️

Our first evening featured Victoria Price and the world premiere of Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive. It was a wonderful way to begin a weekend celebrating the life, work, and enduring legacy of Edgar Allan Poe.

Here are a few photos from the evening. 📸

And there is much more to come!

🎨 One of the highlights of the festival for me will be presenting my bronze portrait bust of Edgar Allan Poe to the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, where it will become part of Poe’s enduring legacy in Baltimore.

The festival includes:

🎭 Victoria Price and the world premiere of Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive

📖 Dramatic readings of Poe’s works

🎶 Live music and performances

🎨 Original artwork and portraits of Poe

🖤 The Black Cat Ball at Westminster Hall

📅 October 2–4
📍 Baltimore, Maryland

More photos and stories from the festival to come! 🖤🕯️

10/01/2026

Alchemy

Formed from clay, I have not been
As others were — I have not seen
As others saw — I could not bring
My passions from a common spring —
From the same source I have not taken
My life, my form, was awakened
By sculptor’s vision, shaping bone —
And forming flesh with touch alone
From mound of clay — I was wrought,
A likeness formed from artist’s thought.
From earthen stone — brought to life,
Through patient hands and sculptor’s knife.
From molds of wax — requiring skill
The mystery which binds me still —
Then came the fire, the heat, the flame,
And bronze flowed forth to bear my name.
From furnace flame and earth below,
A new Poe rose for all to know.
From metal chased and burnished bronze
In its patina — gold as dawn
The light upon my face was cast,
And Poe emerged from time at last.
From lightning flashing through the sky,
From thunder rolling dark and high,
From earth and fire, from clay and stone,
A sculptor gave me flesh and bone.
When bronze was fired and brought to view,
Edgar Poe was cast anew.

— after the poem “Alone” by Edgar Allan Poe

09/30/2026

✨ Reaching Takes on Its Patina ✨

As preparations continue for Freedom, Gateway, and Reaching to become part of Uncommon Ground Sculpture Garden in Edmond, Oklahoma, I wanted to share a look behind the scenes at Reaching.

🔥The two monumental bronze figures are currently at Laran Bronze, where they are being carefully patinated—the final stage that gives the bronze its distinctive color, depth, and character.

Reaching consists of two 7-foot-high figures, a female and a male, extending toward one another. Their gestures create a sense of movement and connection, as though each figure is reaching beyond itself toward the other.

Soon, Reaching will leave the foundry and begin a new chapter at Uncommon Ground, where it will later be joined by Freedom and Gateway as part of the 62-acre sculpture garden scheduled to open in November 2027. 🌳

I’m especially pleased that these three sculptures will come together in Oklahoma. In different ways, they speak to the human desire to reach beyond limitations, move forward, connect with others, and embrace possibility.

🌟Follow along as Reaching takes its next step toward Edmond.

09/30/2026

🖤🕯️Join us Oct. 2-4 in Baltimore for the International Edgar Allan Poe festival where I and my newly cast Poe sculpture will join the festivities. Celebrate the life, work, and enduring legacy of Edgar Allan Poe with a weekend filled with fascinating events and performances.🖤

Edgar Allan Poe

Formed from clay, I have not been
As others were — I have not seen
As others saw — I could not bring
My passions from a common spring —
From the same source I have not taken
My life, my form, was awakened
By sculptor’s vision, shaping bone —
And forming flesh with touch alone
From mound of clay — I was wrought,
A likeness formed from artist’s thought.
From earthen stone — brought to life,
Through patient hands and sculptor’s knife.
From molds of wax — requiring skill
The mystery which binds me still —
Then came the fire, the heat, the flame,
And bronze flowed forth to bear my name.
From furnace flame and earth below,
A new Poe rose for all to know.
From metal chased and burnished bronze
In its patina — gold as dawn
The light upon my face was cast,
And Poe emerged from time at last.
From lightning flashing through the sky,
From thunder rolling dark and high,
From earth and fire, from clay and stone,
A sculptor gave me flesh and bone.
When bronze was fired and brought to view,
Edgar Poe was cast anew.

— after “Alone” by Edgar Allan Poe

09/30/2026

🌟 Three monumental sculptures. One extraordinary new home. 🌟

I’m excited to announce that three of my monumental sculptures—Freedom, Gateway, and Reaching—will be featured at Uncommon Ground Sculpture Garden in Edmond, Oklahoma. 🌳

The 62-acre sculpture park is scheduled to open in November 2027, bringing together monumental works in a setting dedicated to experiencing sculpture, nature, and ideas. 🌿

I’m especially pleased that “Freedom,” “Reaching,” and “Gateway” are coming to Uncommon Ground in Edmond. There is something very fitting about these works being in Oklahoma, with its history of pioneers, movement, and new beginnings—all three sculptures, in different ways, speak to the human desire to reach beyond limitations, move forward, and embrace possibility.

Take a look behind the scenes at Gateway and see how the sculpture was designed and developed from its earliest forms into a monumental stainless-steel work.
Unlike many of my bronze sculptures, Gateway is constructed of stainless steel. Its design brings together ideas of human growth, knowledge, movement, and possibility in a sculpture that also functions as a gateway—inviting people to move through it and experience it from within. 🚶‍♀️🌳✨

09/30/2026

https://www.inquirer.com/life/zenos-frudakis-freedom-philadelphia-rizzo-statue-20260927.html

Zenos Frudakis is the sculptor behind one of Philadelphia's most beloved public artworks and the creator of its most divisive one.

09/27/2026

🎂⚾ Happy Birthday, Mike Schmidt! ⚾🎂

Today, Mike Schmidt turns 77! 🎉

I am honored to have sculpted both a 10-foot bronze statue and a portrait bust of this Phillies All-Star, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest third basemen in baseball history.

In 1980, the Phillies won the World Series, defeating the Kansas City Royals in six games. Schmidt was named World Series MVP, as Philadelphia celebrated the first World Series championship in franchise history. 🏆

Schmidt was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995, further recognizing his extraordinary career. 🌟

His 10-foot-tall bronze statue was unveiled in 2004, during the opening of Citizens Bank Park, where it continues to honor this remarkable athlete and Philadelphia baseball legend.

Happy Birthday, Mike! 🎉⚾