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Environmental Design
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Media Coverage
Andy Worhol once said that "..every
man gets at least 15 minutes of fame." And everyone
loves the attention, especially when it is in print. But
considering our line of work, and the celebrities we interact
with, it is no wonder Genesis Sculpture Studio occasionally
attracts media attention. Here are a few samples.
u u u
u u
“13-foot esquestrian leaves
Lyon”
Nevada Appeal -
September 20, 2006. Front page
By Becky Bosshart
Appeal Staff Writer
September 20, 2006
MOUND HOUSE - A 13-foot tall, 2,500-pound
Italian Renaissance horseman is heading south to Houston atop a
flatbed truck.
Sculptor Thomas Pottage, who worked on the
project for 18 months, nervously watched his
steel-and-fiberglass creation leave his studio Tuesday
afternoon. He put his faith in the moving company and in the
extra material he poured into the design.
The 45-year-old sculptor describes his
creation in the same way a horse breeder would talk about
breeds. He talked about its muscles, such as the hock and
withers, and the importance of capturing the wrinkles in the
flesh and the muscle masses. "Granduca" is painted
with bronze powder and a faux patina to give it an antiquated
look. The rider holds a scroll in his right hand, seemingly to
pass it on.
"He's riding home after a battle, and
he's coming back with information and knowledge for us -
whether it's about another culture or another place,"
Pottage said. The statue will arrive in Houston on
Sunday.
Pottage decided to move Genesis Sculpture
Studio from Fresno to Lyon County because of its affordability.
He found a 2,000-square-foot studio with a door big
enough to remove the completed horseman.
He has worked on various movie sets, such
as "Dracula" and "Jurassic Park" and
sculpted for zoos, hotels and museums across the country.
What he has left: an empty studio still
reflecting the project. Along one wall is piled the molds that
made the 48 pieces needed to complete the sculpture. His work
desk reveals the inspiration: sketches of da Vinci's horse, a
drawing of a gentleman dressed in Italian Renaissance clothing
and profile shots of the sculptor's patron, hotel owner Giorgio
Borligni.
Now that "Granduca" has left his
life Pottage will be looking for another patron. He also plans
to take on students. Then there's the statue he'd like to do
for himself, a contemporary version of St. George on horseback
versus the dragon.
"All three locked in mortal combat,
that would be a dynamic sculpture."
“Nothing’s scarier than real
life”
The Fresno Bee -
Faith and Values Section - Saturday, October 19, 2002.
Front page
By Ron Orozco
Staff Writer
A gunshot rings out. Tires screech.
Blood splatters on walls. These sounds and images
help make up "The Nightmare," a stark play presented
through Nov. 1 in a downtown Fresno warehouse at Broadway and
Stanislaus. Street.
Fresno's Cornerstone Church for the third
year is sponsoring the production, which it calls a
"reality house" because scenes depict some of
the nastier elements of everyday life, including crack houses,
drunken driving, domestic violence, gang shootings and suicide.
In one cemetery scene, for example, cast members take a
"hell-avator" ride. "Real life is scary;
we can't make it up," says James Dominguez, the
church's marketing director. The production's final
scene, however, is one of hope. It shows Jesus rising
from the dead in an attempt to illustrate that a Christian
lifestyle can offer fulfillment.
Nearly 150 cast and crew members put on
the production. Thomas Pottage, director of Genesis Sculpture
Studio, created the props and sets. Organizers say
the production may be to graphic for children and require kids
younger than 13 to be accompanied by an adult. Small
groups are guided through the reality house every five minutes
starting at 7 p.m. today, Thursday, Friday, Oct. 26 and Oct. 28
- Nov. 1. Cost is $7.00. The warehouse is at 1461 Broadway.
For more info, call 442-0122.
“Sculpting his own destiny”
The Sacramento Bee - Neighbors - Thursday, April 23, 1998 Front
page
By Walt Yost
Staff Writer
Thomas W. Pottage, and environmental
sculptor whose creations are displayed in more than a dozen
Hollywood films, experienced a teachers dream this week at
Independence Continuation School.
As a guest speaker, Pottage found himself
surrounded by eager students hanging on his every word long
after class had ended and even well into the sacrosanct lunch
hour. At one point a school counselor had to shoo students on
to their next class. A portfolio of photographs from
"Jurassic Park," "Batman Forever,"
and Dracula" can have that effect on a teenage audience.
But the films aside, Pottage brought his
own compelling message to the Diamond Springs campus. When he
was 5 years old, Pottage said, "I knew I was going to be
in movies. But in high school I kind of forgot that
vision." Peer pressure and the desire to be liked caused
him to loose that dream, he said. "Find that dream and go
after it," Pottage urged his listeners Monday.
Pottage spoke at Independence Continuation
School as part of the school's Careers in the Arts program.
Guidance councilor Patty Brewer approached Pottage about
speaking at the school, on a recommendation from Kathleen
Dodge, El Dorado County film commissioner.
Dodge was familiar with Pottage from his
work on several films shot in El Dorado County. Last November,
Pottage moved from Southern California to North Highlands,
where he operates Genesis Sculpture Studios. He has 18 years of
sculpture experience, including sculpting everything from trees
and rocks to classical figures for Hollywood movies. It was
Pottage, for example, who carved all the bones for
"Jurassic Park." He also helped sculpt the sets for
the movie version of "The Flintstones" - everything
had to be carved out of foam rubber.
He's also created displays for museums,
zoos, entertainment theme parks and some of the largest
hotel-casinos in Las Vegas. He told the students he got his
first job in the business when he applied to be a model builder
with Universal Studios. Unfortunately, he had never done that
type of work. "I lied about my experience," he said.
But what his employer saw in Pottage was a more important
qualification - his passion.
In sculpting, Pottage said, "the
difference between an armature and a master is the degree of
emotion you can put into it." Eventually, Pottage was
earning $75,000 a year and getting so much work he had to turn
down projects.
Working in Hollywood, Pottage said, led to
a variety of interactions with celebrities, from drinking
coffee with Steven Spielberg, to rear-ending Mel Gibson's
Mercedes. During a question and answer period, sophomore Pam
Turney asked Pottage how someone gets started as a sculptor in
Hollywood. "Build things," Pottage replied.
"Then build a portfolio of your work."
He reminded the class that Halloween isn't
that far away. He suggested that students purchase a
block of foam and start working, perhaps creating a haunted
house on campus. After class, Turney said she might take up
Pottage's idea and set to work on that foam.
"It will take a lot of
practice," she said. Micah Cordero, a junior at
Independence Continuation School, told Pottage he enjoys
drawing but wondered how that translated to sculpture.
"Drawing is the basic language of art," Pottage said.
Pottage's appearance at the school ties in
with its emphasis on the arts. Art teacher Joan Scannell
said her students are "very hands-on," and every
student must take at least 10 units of fine arts to graduate.
Last summer the school modernized its art room, adding scanners
and other equipment."
