Top Of The Class

We created this sculpture for the Sitka Public Safety Academy. It is made of cast bronze, granite and cement. A larger than life State Trooper Hat made of bronze sits atop three granite law textbooks and rests on a cement plinth with a cast bronze plaque. The bronze was cast at Arizona Bronze (now Bollinger Atelier) in Tempe, Arizona.

Award Category
1% For Public Art Award
Commission Year
2004
Client
Sitka Public Safety Academy

Alaska Public Safety Academy in Sitka wanted a more traditional approach for their 1% for Public Art Sculpture.  We wanted to create a sculpture with a strong design incorporating  their Mission plaque and using durable materials suitable for the Southeastern climate.  The combination of the Trooper hat atop three granite law books placed on a concrete pedestal provided for an enduring impression of strength.  Their watch words of loyalty, integrity, and courage are embodied in this sculpture.

Our initial design incorporated a set of Trooper gloves but we were informed that  it wouldn’t be appropriate as it signified the death of an officer.

We created the larger than life Trooper Hat by sculpting it out of plasticene clay in our studio.  A rubber mold and a fiberglass Mother mold was made from the clay model.  The clay was removed and the molds were poured with melted wax. This is called the “lost wax process”.  Ceramic investment is sprayed over the wax models.  After it hardens, the wax is melted out and molten bronze is poured into the molds.  This was done at Arizona Bronze Foundry in Tempe Arizona.

The law books were first made out of wood and then used as patterns to be cut from granite and polished by Alaska Marble and Granite in Anchorage.  We created the concrete plinth in our studio. We travelled to Haines with our sculpture crated in the back of our truck.  We took the ferry to Sitka and installed the sculpture when we arrived as it was bright and sunny.

The sculpture entitled “Top of the Class” was placed at the cadet’s entrance rather than the front entrance.  When they pass it each day they are reminded to strive to be at the “Top of the Class”.  If you look closely you can see a polished bronze part of the brim of the Trooper hat where cadets touch it for good luck on their way into class.