The Clara Barton Memorial

08/08/2025

A new project I am working on in Hagerstown. Please check out the page and follow.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579122659617

Public art

10/25/2024

Michelle Johnson is the Director of the Maryland 250 Commission.
She visited on Thursday with sculptor Toby Mendez and committees member Tom Riford. She toured the Clara Barton Memorial Sculpture and Park, and learned about Clara Barton and the public art project.

10/25/2024

Photos from today with the new sponsored bricks in place, in the shape of a red cross.

07/28/2024

The Thurgood Marshall Memorial competition was announced early in 1995 and was a national call. I was 31 years old and only had one large project completed "The Oyster Tonger". I have no idea how I made the final five sculptors being considered, there were some pretty good and nationally known finalists from all over the country. I was so fortunate to be considered. I was the last to present and Francoise Yohalem was the art consultant that worked with the State of Maryland to help coordinate the competition. When I walked into the room she whispered to me, "don't let me down". She was the art consultant for the "Oyster Tonger" competition and knew I had potential. When she said that to me, I wasn't sure what to think? I knew my team had put so much into the preparation for this competition. My collaborator was James Urban a nationally known landscape architect. His home/office was in Annapolis and we rode together up to Baltimore for the presentation. I was so sleep deprived, having worked way into the night before. In the car I practiced my presentation and Jim gave me last minute pointers. Words I can still hear today, so precious was his advice, I can't share them here. But it settled me and when we walked into the room and set up, I could see the selection committee was wondering who was the lead artist? I was so young, they were looking at Jim who was 20 years my senior (assuming he was the artist) and I said, "I can see you all know who the artist is, by looking at my sense of fashion" and they all laughed and we shut off the lights and I started presenting the slide show (pre power point), when I finished the committee all rose to come and talk to me about the maquette, this is unusual, usually a committee is very stoic and reserved, but I obviously did something right. That evening I got the call that changed my life. Civil Rights Memorials are the heart and soul of what I enjoy most. If artists are the vehicle to share or to tell a story, these are the stories I enjoy most. They are the projects that make me feel I am doing the right thing. When we formally presented the memorial to the public several months later, I had the opportunity to get up and tell the story of the memorial to the Thurgood Marshall family along with several of Marshall's colleagues that helped over turn Brown V the Board of Education of Topeka. That was a moment I will never forget. I truly was blessed.

07/24/2024

When you are creating the portrait of this soldier who is fading, you hope it moves the viewer. It is a gift to see what another artist sees in your work. Thank you to the photographer. The Clara Barton Memorial, photo credit The Maryland State Arts Council. Part of the funding is from the MSAC PAAM Grant.

07/24/2024

The wonderful light, captures the detail so wonderfully. The Clara Barton Memorial, photo credit The Maryland State Arts Council. Part of the funding is from the MSAC PAAM Grant.

07/10/2024

As I work in my studio, I often listen to a movie or a series. I am listening to an old series that was on tv back in 1991-3 called I'll Fly Away. It is a great series that was cancelled way too soon. It is a fictional story of a family in Alabama during the civil rights movement, and the story is told through the eyes of the family's black maid. It reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird as if it was told by Calpurnia. Right now the Lunch Counter protests are part of the story. I am thinking back to creating a memorial to Walter Sondheim for UMBC. Mr. Sondheim was the President of the Baltimore Board of Education when the Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka was decided. As soon as the Supreme Court Case was handed down, Walter Sondheim reached out to each of the Board of Education members and convinced them to desegregate the Baltimore Schools for the fall term. Back in 1954 the City of Baltimore Board of Education was separate from the State of Maryland's BOE. Walter Sondheim desegregated the Baltimore schools, Baltimore was the first city south of the Mason Dixon line to be desegregated. I had several chances to sit down and talk with Mr. Sondheim while I created this portrait of him and had the opportunity to interview him and get a first hand take on the events. I said, I heard a cross was burnt on your front lawn, he said, "yes but it was a small cross" he was downplaying his contributions and the events. I had also heard that the department store that he was President CEO of Hochschild Kohn, that it had a lunch counter that was segregated and that students came to "sit" at the counter in protest. He said, "yes and someone came and immediately told him there was a "sit in" going on, he said "well please serve the students". The students hadn't brought enough money, so Mr. Sondheim went down and bought them lunch. Final story, around 1959 or 60 Morgan State presented both Walter Sondheim and Martin Luther King Jr. honorary degrees. We spoke about that as well and he was so humble about what he had done. At his dedication of the bronze in his honor, I mentioned how he was so humble and didn't like to receive all of the attention, that the other board members were equally responsible for desegregating the Baltimore Schools and I said, I understand why he wants to share the credit, but I also said what Thurgood Marshall stated, we judge our leaders by the decisions they made when they were in power, when they were the gatekeepers. When he was the President of the BOE he twisted the arms of the others insuring the vote was unanimous. A true hero.

07/09/2024

A nice article about the Clara Barton Memorial. Sometimes you work on a project and wish you could go through the experience once again, this is one of those.

Anyone who knows about the Battles of Gettysburg or Antietam has heard of Hagerstown, Maryland but I wonder how many “Civil War Tourists” have stopped...

05/30/2024

Another beautiful day for an unveiling. The Loonis McGlohon

05/29/2024

THE AIRPOWER HISTORY TOUR BRINGS ICONIC WORLD WAR II AIRCRAFT
TO HAGERSTOWN AVIATION MUSEUM IN HAGERSTOWN, MD
FOR PUBLIC TOURS AND RIDES
JUNE 4-5, 2024
Event offers great visuals and interview opportunities
Media will have exclusive access to the aircraft upon arrival

The distinctive rumble of radial engines from two of the rarest World War II bombers, the B-29 Superfortress “FIFI” will be heard in the skies over Hagerstown in June when she visits the Hagerstown Aviation Museum as part of the AirPower History Tour of the Commemorative Air Force. The bomber is to be accompanied by a T-6 Texan, a PT-13 Stearman and an RC-45J Expeditor.

The AirPower History Tour brings the sights, sounds, and stories of World War II aviation to airports across North America each year. Visitors to the ramp will be able to view all aircraft up close, purchase rides, and tour the B-29 and B-24 cockpits when the aircraft are not flying.

The aircraft will arrive at noon on Monday, June 3. The aircraft will be staged at the Hagerstown Aviation Museum ramp located at 18450 Showalter Rd. Bldg. 8, Hagerstown, MD 21742. Follow event signage.

The event will be open to the public Tuesday and Wednesday, June 4 – 5, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Access to the ramp where the warbirds are parked is $20 for adults, $10 for children ages 11-17 and free for children 10 and under. The T-6, PT-13 and RC-45J will be offering rides each day. The B-29 flies on Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Cockpit tours of the B-29 will be available on Tuesday and Wednesday beginning at approximately noon.

Rides may be booked in advance at AirPowerTour.org where additional information about the event may also be found.

ABOUT THE B-29 SUPERFORTRESS “FIFI”
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the largest and most technically advanced aircraft of its time, was first flown in 1942. It began active service in the US Army Air Corp in 1944 and is best known as the aircraft whose missions over Japan helped bring an end to World War II. The B-29 also was used in the Korean War in the early 1950s and was a staple of the U.S. Air Force until 1960. “FIFI”, one of only two B-29’s in the world still flying, was acquired by the CAF in 1971. She began touring in 1974 and has been entertaining air show audiences across the country ever since.

ABOUT THE T-6 TEXAN
The North American T-6 Texan, known as the "Pilotmaker”, was an advanced flight trainer that introduced new pilots to a complex aircraft with more speed of over 200-plus miles per hour, to prepare them for the fighters they would fly in combat in WWII. The T-6 was designed for an instructor and student, and had a closed cockpit. The AT-6 on tour is named “Nella,” short for the Women Air Service Pilots (WASP) mascot Fifinella. This particularly AT-6 trained WASP from June 1943 to December 1944 at the WASP’s training base – Avenger Field in Sweetwater, TX. Nella has flown with 7 WASP since 2017, giving them an opportunity to relive their WWII experience.

ABOUT THE PT-13 STEARMAN
The Boeing PT-13 was the primary flight trainer for all branches of the military during World War II. This iconic biplane, almost universally known as the "Stearman”, trained more crews than any other aircraft in WWII. A ride in this open cockpit airplane brings back the wind-in-your hair feeling of the barnstormer era during the early days of flying.

ABOUT THE RC-45J EXPEDITOR
The Beech SNB (RC-45J) is a US Navy/Marine variant of the civilian Model 18 Twin Beech. Over half of the 10,000 produced from 1937 and 1970 were for the US Military, and were used for light transport, photoreconnaissance, and navigation, bombing, and gunnery training. Many Twin Beech aircraft survive today after serving post-military as relatively inexpensive, reliable light cargo aircraft. This RC-45J was an observation aircraft and has a glass floor where you can watch the world go by between your feet!

ABOUT THE COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE
Through more than six decades of collecting and flying World War II aircraft, the CAF has become the world’s largest flying museum. Their fleet of over 170 World War II airplanes are assigned to unit locations across the U.S. and are supported by 12,000 volunteer members. Nearly all the aircraft are kept in flying condition, enabling people to experience firsthand the sight and sound of vintage military aircraft in flight. The CAF is dedicated to honoring American military aviation through flight, exhibition, education, and remembrance.

To learn more about the Commemorative Air Force, please visit www.commemorativeairforce.org.

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05/24/2024

I like these night photos that I took on my phone. The sky was so blue and you can even see the stars. I wonder how many people will discover this work and pause. One of the concerns by one person when I proposed this sculpture was it being sad. There is beauty in the drama. When I think of music that is similar I find the moments that feel like the movement lifts, inspiring. I hope that the viewer finds the beauty in the movement. There is something cathartic about that.