Blank | Jerry McKenna Sculptor

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Artist. Creator. Visionary.

Portfolio

CHARLES A. COMISKEY Charles Comiskey was the co-founder of the American Baseball League & founder of the Chicago White Sox as well as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. This sculpture was dedicated at U.S. Cellular Field (formerly Comiskey Park) on April 23, 2004.	NUDE SUN BATHER Nude study 1990	CRUCIFIX This Crucifix is 13 feet tall and is located at St. Peter The Apostle Church in Boerne, TX.	WORKING ON FRANK PATTERSON Frank Patterson "Ireland's Golden Tenor" is located in Delahunty Square, Clonmel County Tipperary, Ireland.
DR. GERTRUDE A. BARBER Dr. Gertude A. Barber inspired others to see people with disabilities as valued & respected children of God. Dr. Barber taught how to ensure better, more enriching lives for people with disabilities. This sculpture is located at the Barber Center, Erie Pennsylvania.	JERRY McKENNA SELF-PORTRAIT This life size bronze self-portrait, created in 2003, is part of the artist's personal collection. Its multi-chromatic patina is a departure from the artist's usual dark copper renditions.	MIKE THOMAS 1908-2006 Mike Thomas was the artist's father-in-law. A life-long golfer, Mike held a PGA Professional Golfer's card for over seventy years, and at the time of his death, he was the oldest living member of Chicago's famous Columet Country Club. He was also a successful commodities broker and CEO of the M.H. Thomas Company. This sculpture was presented to him by the artist as a token of love and respect on the occasion of his 95th birthday in September 2004.	ST. JOSEPH & THE YOUNG CHRIST The young Jesus is the focal point of this sculpture even though Joseph, his foster father, is more prominent due to his size. Around the base of the sculpture is a quotation from John 14:27, where Christ promises his peace and exhorts us to be neither troubled or afraid. This sculpture was dedicated in the Church of the Epiphany, Normal, Illinois in September 2010.
HARMON A. DOBSON Harmon Dobson was the founder of WHATABURGER, INC. He started his first establishment in 1950 as a large "wooden box" stand. Today the distinctive orange and white WHATABURGER Restaurants can be found in seven Southwest States from Arizona to Texas... to Mexico. His hamburger empire has expanded to over 250 locations. Since 1999 this sculpture has stood in front of the WHATABURGER "Flagship" Restaurant on the bay front of Corpus Christi, Texas.	MAJOR FERNANDO RIBAS-DOMINICCI Major Fernando Ribas-Dominicci bust is located at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.	TOMMY McDONALD AT HIS ENSHRINEMENT CEREMONY Tommy McDonald's bust is located in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio - August 1998.	DAN ROONEY Dan Rooney has spent nearly fifty seasons in various capacities with his family-owned Pittsburgh Steelers Football Team. Appointed President in 1975, he was an integral part of one of the era's most successful franchises. Under his leadership, the team won four Super Bowls! This bust was created on the occasion of Rooney's enshrinement into the Hall of Fame in August 2000.
DAVE CASPER A three-year starter for Notre Dame's Fighting Irish football team, Casper earned Academic All-America honors in his junior year and All-America tight-end as a senior. Drafted by the Oakland Raiders, he acquired the nickname "the Ghost," and was named All-Pro four times. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, at which time this bust was enshrined in the Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio.	PAUL ANDERSON IN THE MAKING In 1956 Paul Anderson was hailed as the Olympic heavyweight weight-lifting champion – the world's strongest man. Based on his back lift of 6,270 pounds in 1957, the Guinness Book of World Records credited him with lifting the most weight ever lifted by a human being. After retiring Paul and his wife, Glenda, founded the Paul Anderson Youth Home in Vidalia, Georgia. This photo shows the artist modeling the larger than life sculpture of Anderson that stands in Paul Anderson Park, Toccoa, Georgia.	BAPTISMAL FONT This Baptismal Font is located in St. Peter The Apostle Church in Boerne, Texas.	GAIL HALVORSEN - "THE CANDY BOMBER" Col. Gail Halvorsen, “The Candy Bomber” was a senior officer and command pilot in the United States Air Force. He is best known as the "Berlin Candy Bomber" or "Uncle Wiggly Wings" and gained fame for dropping candy to German children during the Berlin Airlift from 1948 to 1949. The sculpture is located at the Airlift/Tanker Walk of Fame, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. (Note the Hershey Bar and Candy Cane in his pocket).
THE FIGHTING IRISH LEPRECHAUN Since 1961 the Leprechaun has been the mascot for the University of Notre Dame Athletic teams. In 1964 the University commissioned Elkhart, Indiana artist, Ted Drake, to design the logo that is so familiar to Irish fans today. In 1960, Jerry McKenna visited Drake at his Elkhart studio and fifty-three years later it would be McKenna who would turn Drake's cartoon into a four-foot three-dimensional bronze sculpture.	THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE This sculpture represents the famous debate in Alton, Illinois, between Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen A. Douglas. It stands in Lincoln-Douglas Square at the exact same spot as the debaters stood in October of 1858. The sculptures were unveiled on October 15, 1995.

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