Ep. 46 - A Lifetime of Sculpting Nature and Wildlife with Kent and Veerle Ullberg
Episode 46 welcomes Kent and Veerle Ullberg. Over the past 46 years, this couple has built a life, a business, and a legacy with realistic wildlife sculptures, all serving to spread the beauty of nature and engage onlookers to recognize a need for the preservation of our natural environment. Kent makes the sculptures and Veerle runs the business. They have operated in exactly this way for nearly half a century! For more on Kent's work as a sculptor and naturalist, view his bio below. Also note the headline quote by the late Roger Tory Peterson who, himself was an author, artist, and educator, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his extraordinary work in the field of ornithology. "No one during the latter half of this century has celebrated the animal form with greater enthusiasm and virtuosity. Very simply, Kent's public monuments have come close to symbolize an age of environmental awareness that is a stepping stone to the next millennium." –––––– Roger Tory Peterson A native of Sweden, Kent Ullberg is recognized as one of the world's foremost wildlife sculptors. He studied at the Swedish University College of Art in Stockholm and worked at museums in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Africa and Denver, CO. After living in Botswana, Africa, for seven years he has made his home permanently in the United States where he now lives on Padre Island, Corpus Christi, TX. He also maintains a studio in Loveland, CO. Ullberg is a member of numerous art organizations and has been honored with many prestigious awards. In 1990 his peers elected him a Full Academician (NA), thus making him the first wildlife artist since John James Audubon to receive one of the greatest tributes in American art. A selection of his memberships include the National Sculpture Society; the American Society of Marine Art; the Allied Artists of America; Nature in Art, Sandhurst, UK; the National Academy of Western Art in Oklahoma City, OK which awarded him the Prix de West, the foremost recognition in Western Art. In 2010 he received the Briscoe Legacy Award and in 2016 the lifetime achievement award from the Society of Animal Artists. Best known for his monumental works executed for museums and municipalities across the globe, his Fort Lauderdale, FL, and his Omaha, NE installations are the largest bronze wildlife compositions ever done, spanning several city blocks. Both earned him the coveted Henry Hering Medal Award from the National Sculpture Society, NYC. His most recent monumental installation is "Snow-Mastodon," a life-size bronze Mastodon placed outside the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Kent's work is nothing short of "larger than life". His Spirit of Nebraska in Omaha, NE for instance, consists of 67 bronze and stainless steel works. This site occupies the Bank properties on all four corners of the 16th and Dodge intersection as well as works on 15th Street. This wildlife monument includes 3 bulls standing at 8' and weighing nearly 1,400 pounds, several yearling bulls, and 2 cows with their calves, as well as a large water feature with 8' Canada Geese in bronze taking flight. As the geese fly across the street they are attached to 18' bronze trees, a traffic signal, the corner of a building, a light post, 2 other poles, and culminate with several stainless steel geese suspended within the glass atrium of the Bank's headquarters. Each of these works has been strategically placed to engage visitors, particularly children, as they pass. To say that Kent and Veerle have built a "successful" life in the world of art and creativity would be a complete understatement. While their days as Creative Moonlighters passed back in the 1970’s, hearing their story is awe-inspiring for any creative who is currently looking for a way to make the transition from moonlighting to daylighting. Enjoy and as always, send questions and comments to Griffyn.co@gmail.com Visit www.kentullberg.net #kentullberg #sculptureandartist #be
