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Morgantown sculptor Jamie Lester recently completed a statue of a German shepherd as a memorial.Mel Moraes/ASSOCIATED PRESS Visit the Photo Place |
Date published: 10/26/2012
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va.
--When terrorist-piloted airliners brought down the Twin Towers, rescuers immediately set to work scouring the rubble for survivors. Rescue dogs were an invaluable part of the effort as they used their powerful sense of smell to search out people buried beneath the debris.Those four-legged rescuers now have a monument to commemorate their hard work and dedication, thanks to a West Virginia artist.
Morgantown sculptor Jamie Lester created the 36-inch, life-size sculpture of a German shepherd that now sits in the Diamond in the Pines Park on Long Island, N.Y.
It was unveiled on Sept. 11 of this year, the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Although Lester is an accomplished bronze artist--he's completed hundreds of works for clients around the county--it is not the career path he envisioned when he was an undergrad at West Virginia University.
He graduated in 1997 after studying visual art with a focus on ceramics. He hasn't done much ceramic work since college, however. His daughter, Hannah, was born shortly after he graduated, and he quickly realized there wasn't much money in making gallery pieces.
"I was kind of motivated by that to find a way to make some money with my art. I couldn't afford to be a starving artist."
He got a contract with a foundry in Kingwood and spent two years there doing portrait sculptures. Once the contract was up, he started doing more work on his own.
Lester has now done commissioned pieces for foundries and clients all over the United States. He contributed a bronze sculpture to the Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance, which commemorates the Brooklyn firefighters who died in the 9/11 attacks. Each year, he makes bronze-relief busts of new inductees to the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla.
His most-famous creation has probably jingled in your pocket. Lester's design of the New River Gorge Bridge was picked to adorn West Virginia's state quarter, released in 2005 as part of the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters program.
Lester also has produced several notable works for West Virginia University. He crafted the life-size Jerry West statue that stands in front of the WVU Coliseum, as well as the bust of broadcaster Jack Fleming that sits inside the Erickson Alumni Center.
He returned to his alma mater to cast his latest bronze piece.