FIRST READ:
Touchdown Jesus' statue fire not a sign from God, Solid Rock Church leader says
A statue worth 300, 000$ erected
by a so called Christian church. What nonsense!!! Why not send this money to Africa to construct a church for poor Christians who
worship from leaking roofs. Why not spend this money to pay the medical bills some
very poor persons in Asia or Africa who are
HIV positive . This statue is indicative of how wicked and selfish human beings
can be. They pretend to advertise Jesus when in reality they are advertising
them selves. Shame upon this so called Solid Rock Church. Take it or leave it was God who
smashed that Gabbage statue. Put up another statue and live to regret what God
will do next. Do not say I never warned you. see, http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2010/06/touchdown-jesus-statue-fire-not-sign.html
'Touchdown Jesus' Statue in Ohio Struck by Lightning to Be Rebuilt in July
By Stoyan Zaimov ,
Christian Post Reporter
June 18, 2012|11:21 am
Almost two years after a massive 62-foot replica of Jesus Christ was struck down by lightning in a rampant blaze, the Solid Rock Church statue in Southwest Ohio will finally be rebuilt by July.
The new statue will be a little bit shorter than its predecessor, standing at 51 feet tall, Cincinnati.com reported.
The steel foundations for the statue were first laid out in Sept. 2011, and it is costing between $250,000 and $750,000 to rebuild it. The original statue, built in 2004, also cost $250,000.
A short video by the Middletown Journal shows images of the 2010 blaze that destroyed the original "Touchdown Jesus" statue, photos of the small clay model on which the new "Lux Mundi" statue will be based, as well as the framework of the new giant statue being raised up by construction crews.
Some have questioned the great costs associated with rebuilding the statue, with some critics alleging that it is a "graven image," and that the money should instead be used for helping people. The Solid Rock Church, however, has disagreed and said that the sculpture is made to be seen as a symbol.
Solid Rock Church,
which has two campuses in Ohio,
is not associated with any denomination, although its doctrine is similar to
the Assemblies of God, according to its website. The church, led by Pastor
Darlene Bishop, operates a Brazilian orphanage in South
America, has a prison ministry, and a home for women recovering
from various life crises.
MONROE — A new statue in front of Solid Rock
Church will portray Jesus Christ inviting followers to “Come Unto Me.”
Two Cincinnati artists have been chosen to design the new 51-foot-high statue that will replace the “King of Kings” monument destroyed when it was struck by lightning June 14.
The collaboration of Steve Brauch of Glasshand LLC and Tom Tsuchiya was chosen from six artists to design and sculpt the full-standing statue of Jesus Christ with an outstretched pose, said Ron Carter, administrator of Solid Rock Church, located at 904 N. Union Road in Monroe.
The church board chose Tsuchiya and Brauch — whose company’s previous work includes the fiberglass Big Pigs in downtown Cincinnati and Frisch’s Big Boy — over artists from Canada, Cincinnati, Colorado and Texas. “We liked the design. Also, the local aspect of it gives us an opportunity to review their work in progress so if there needs to be minor tweaks, we can do that,” Carter said.
The statue will stand on 11 feet of boulders and rocks with water flowing out of the rock into the reflecting pool in front of the statue. The structure will be constructed of a steel substructure with a lightning suppression system installed, he said.
The church unveiled an 18-inch tall replica of the statue on an audio visual screen to its congregation during services on Sunday.
“They responded very favorably,” Carter said, adding that he hopes the general public likes it as well.
“They can be inspired by it,” he said.
The work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011.
The two Cincinnati artists selected to design the new giant Jesus statue at Solid Rock Church say they are excited by the challenge.
“I never worked on a sculpture of this scale before, so from a sculptor’s perspective this is a really exciting piece,” said Tsuchiya.
Rebar and hardware cloth will cover the substructure defining the general detail of the statue. Urethane foam will cover the wire mesh and will be sculpted into the refined detail of the statue. It will be finished with a top coating of acrylic-based aggregate to resemble limestone.
“There’s a lot of preliminary work before the sculpting starts,” Carter said, including calculating how much steel will be needed for the statue.
Plans call on the artists to work on the head and hands during the winter months and to begin constructing the body in the spring, Carter said. The head and hands also will be attached to the body then, Carter said.
Tsuchiya said he and Brauch, whose company is located in Woodlawn, have known each other for about decade and have worked on some small projects together in the past.
“Basically, I’d design some sculptures and then he and his firm would fabricate my ideas. … Usually, we never did anything where they were joint projects; it would be me going to him to have something made,” he said.
Glasshand specializes in complex molds and limited production runs from public and commercial art to roller coaster bodies, according to the company’s website at www.theglasshand.com.
Solid Rock unveils new Jesus statue
Cincinnati artists say they are excited by the challenge.
By Denise Wilson,
Staff Writer Updated 8:56 AM Tuesday, November
2, 2010
Two Cincinnati artists have been chosen to design the new 51-foot-high statue that will replace the “King of Kings” monument destroyed when it was struck by lightning June 14.
The collaboration of Steve Brauch of Glasshand LLC and Tom Tsuchiya was chosen from six artists to design and sculpt the full-standing statue of Jesus Christ with an outstretched pose, said Ron Carter, administrator of Solid Rock Church, located at 904 N. Union Road in Monroe.
The church board chose Tsuchiya and Brauch — whose company’s previous work includes the fiberglass Big Pigs in downtown Cincinnati and Frisch’s Big Boy — over artists from Canada, Cincinnati, Colorado and Texas. “We liked the design. Also, the local aspect of it gives us an opportunity to review their work in progress so if there needs to be minor tweaks, we can do that,” Carter said.
The statue will stand on 11 feet of boulders and rocks with water flowing out of the rock into the reflecting pool in front of the statue. The structure will be constructed of a steel substructure with a lightning suppression system installed, he said.
The church unveiled an 18-inch tall replica of the statue on an audio visual screen to its congregation during services on Sunday.
“They responded very favorably,” Carter said, adding that he hopes the general public likes it as well.
“They can be inspired by it,” he said.
The work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011.
The two Cincinnati artists selected to design the new giant Jesus statue at Solid Rock Church say they are excited by the challenge.
“I never worked on a sculpture of this scale before, so from a sculptor’s perspective this is a really exciting piece,” said Tsuchiya.
Rebar and hardware cloth will cover the substructure defining the general detail of the statue. Urethane foam will cover the wire mesh and will be sculpted into the refined detail of the statue. It will be finished with a top coating of acrylic-based aggregate to resemble limestone.
“There’s a lot of preliminary work before the sculpting starts,” Carter said, including calculating how much steel will be needed for the statue.
Plans call on the artists to work on the head and hands during the winter months and to begin constructing the body in the spring, Carter said. The head and hands also will be attached to the body then, Carter said.
Tsuchiya said he and Brauch, whose company is located in Woodlawn, have known each other for about decade and have worked on some small projects together in the past.
“Basically, I’d design some sculptures and then he and his firm would fabricate my ideas. … Usually, we never did anything where they were joint projects; it would be me going to him to have something made,” he said.
Glasshand specializes in complex molds and limited production runs from public and commercial art to roller coaster bodies, according to the company’s website at www.theglasshand.com.
