About Us
The following information combines for less than 1% of the total information in the book.
2000 Peanuts On Parade 75 Original Designs + 26 More + 16 "Extras"
GUMBALL SNOOPY
This statue is done in a “photorealist” style. “I wanted to create a piece that would appear to be more sculptural than just a painted sculpture,” said artist Rurik. “Thus, I decided that I wanted to ‘fill’ Snoopy up with something. While browsing through my library, I came to the works of photorealist painter Charles Bell. His subject matters consisted of toy, pinball and gumball machines. I added this to my list of their connotation of childhood and escapism. I was attempting to create a piece that screamed fun and childhood,” Rurik continued. “The connotation of the word “gumball” is irrevocably linked with children and would linguistically back up the nature of what I was attempting to paint.”
Rurik talked about his experience as an artist during Peanuts on Parade. “This project was an immense joy for me. During the three day paint-off, I got to hang out with my fellow artists, drink gallons of coffee, exist on a total of eight hours of sleep and work at a pace I’d never done before. The summer that the statues were out on display, I drove by Gumball Snoopy most days just to check on it. During these visits, I saw children and businessmen interact with it, hordes of photographers and a zillion smiles. This was an incredible experience and gave me a wonderful feeling every time I saw someone interacting with it.”
Gumball Snoopy was one of the original 75 statues commissioned.
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Artist: Rurik
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Sponsor: Andersen Corporation
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Location during the summer of 2000: Minnesota Children’s Museum, 10 W. 7th St. St.
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Auction Status: Sold at the live auction for $24,000 then could be found on public display at Hilltop Primary School, 5700 Game Farm Road, Mound, MN.
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Westland:#8410
2001 Charlie Brown Around Town 102 Designs + 2 "Extras"
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS
This design is taken directly from the television special with the same name when Charlie Brown finds his Christmas tree. To create an interactive statue, a black button was placed on the red bulb hanging on the tree. When pushed, Linus’ “That’s what Christmas is all about” speech from the television special could be heard.
Just as Classic Snoopy from 2000, Charles Schulz was given accolades as the artist. The statue was actually created at Tivoli Too.
The TV special debuted on December 9, 1965 and received high ratings and praise from critics. It won a Peabody, an award for excellence in broadcasting, in 1965 and an Emmy, the most prestigious award in television, in 1966.
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Artist: Charles M. Schulz
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Sponsor: Snoopy’s Family Fund
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Location during the summer of 2001: Landmark Center, 75 W. 5th St. & Washington
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Auction Status: Kept by the sponsor
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Westland: #8429
2002 Looking For Lucy 109 Designs + 5 "Extras"
COMMODOR LUCY
This statue was designed with one specific thought in mind. Artist Troy Olin explained. “It was a gift for the first female Commodore for the St. Paul Yacht Club, Barbara Hakke. After doing the statue, several club members invited my wife and I to visit and enjoyed a cruise down the Mississippi River,” he said proudly.
Mrs. Hakke described the yacht club and its history. “It has 220 slips (docks for boats) and we have 11 board members that are the governing body of the club. It has been in existence for 90 years and I was the first woman commodore.” There has since been a new commodore elected, and yes, it’s a male.” Hakke has kept her gift in a private location since receiving the gift.
- Artist: Troy Olin
- Sponsor: Friends of St. Paul Yacht Club
- Location during the summer of 2002: Harriet Island, near lower Harbor Gate
- Auction Status: Kept by the sponsor
2003 Linus Blankets St. Paul 90 Designs + 5 "Extras"
LINUS ON THE MISSISSIPPI
This design is in honor of the Grand Excursion that was coming to Saint Paul in 2004 - an event that marked the 150th anniversary of the Grand Excursion from 1854. The largest riverboat and steamboat flotilla reenacted the trek up the Mississippi River from Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois to the Twin Cities in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Over 1 million people from all over the country, as well as other countries, came to witness the historical event.
Author Mark Twain wrote many stories about life on the Mississippi. A quote from Twain is written on Linus’ back that says, “Saint Paul is a wonderful city. It is put together with solid blocks of honest bricks and stone, and has the air of intending to stay.
- Mark Twain”
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Artist: Chuck B. Keeler
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Sponsor: Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation
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Location during the summer of 2003: 25 W. 6th St.
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Auction Status: Sold for $4500 and is in a private collection in Minnetrista, MN
2004 Doghouse Days of Summer 104 Designs + 3 "Extras"
EVERHART BY SNOOPY
“The name ‘Snoopy by Everhart’ is nothing more than a trademark that (Schulz’ former) syndicate, United Features Syndicate, came up with as a title for the line of products they were going to make from my paintings - puzzles, posters and things like that,” explained artist Tom Everhart. “He never really liked that title very much and was always afraid that it would over power the paintings, so I reversed it as a private joke to him. Even on the statue it says something about ‘Here’s one for you.’ because I knew it would have made him laugh. A lot of times people would see ‘Snoopy by Everhart’ like on a calendar or something and they would mistake it for the name of the painting. And that was something that Sparky and I, especially Sparky, always sought never to happen. He never wanted the painting to look commercial like they would if they had a title or a trademark - like ‘Snoopy by Everhart.’ Because to him, my paintings kind of set free his art as art. He would call my paintings, and this is a quote, ‘Celebrations of Freedom.’ Because he saw them as free of the copyrights, free of trademarks, free of all the titles that normally go on a cartoon strip and so they could finally be art.”
On the right side of the base, Everhart wrote:
“TOM EVERHART, “EVERHART BY SNOOPY,” 2004
FOR SPARKY AND THE DREADED DESECRATIONS – THIS ONE’S ESPECIALLY FOR YOU ‘OLD FRIEND’ – I HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD LAUGH!”
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Artist: Tom Everhart
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Sponsor: The Charles M. Schulz Fund
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Location during the summer of 2004: Landmark Center, Main Lobby
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Auction Status: Sold for $22,000 and resides at a private home in Miami, FL.
2005 It's Your Town, Charlie Brown 55 Designs
THE MANY FACES OF CHARLIE BROWN
“Jeannie Schulz asked if anyone here at the studio had any ideas for the Creative Associates statue,” said Stephanie Samuels, Approvals System Administrator at Creative Associates. “So I turned in my design and she and Craig Schulz both liked the idea. I was unaware that I would be actually working on the statue myself.
“I wanted something that would best represent Charles Schulz and his work,” Samuels continued. “What better than the instruments that he used to create his strips – the quill pen and ink with an array of his Charlie Brown poses that he created from the 50’s to present day. So with the help of Erin (Samuels), we started gathering our favorite poses to have decals made to place them on the statue. Since we had about 50 different images of Charlie Brown, I decided the best name would be The Many Faces of Charlie Brown. We kept the statue in black and white to create the character just as he was in the strips.”
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Artist: Craig Schulz, Stephanie & Erin Samuels
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Sponsor: Creative Associates
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Location during the summer of 2005: Charles M. Schulz Museum, 2301 Hardies Ln.
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Auction Status: Sold for $13,500
2006 Summer of Woodstock 76 Designs
MAKING WISHES COME TRUE
The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been “making wishes come true” for kids with life-threatening medical conditions since 1980. After one boy’s recent vacation in Hawaii was granted, the foundation sought out an artist to recreate his trip. “They put me in touch with the family and when (my husband) Brian and I met them, we got a chance to talk about their vacation,” said artist Nancy Roberts. “We picked elements that were important to their vacation. The parrot represents their visit to a parrot farm, the sea turtle is there because the young man swam with the turtles and all the flowers represent the flowers that were in many of their photos.”
Shortly after the paint-off, Make-A-Wish hosted a large fund raiser in Santa Rosa. During this event, they held their own private auction which included the statue. It sold for $10,000. That money went back into the Make-A-Wish bankroll to help grant more wishes down the road. “We wanted to bring a local flavor to the event and we thought the statue would be a nice addition,” said Sabrina Soulis, events manager of Northern California Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “Our chapter serves the 17 county northern California area and the Peanuts on Parade project highlighted what was happening in the Sonoma County area.”
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Artist: Nancy Roberts
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Sponsor: Make-A-Wish Foundation
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Location during the summer of 2006: 4350 Barnes Rd.
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Auction Status: Kept by the sponsor
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Westland: #18221
2007 Snoopy's "Joe Cool" Summer 94 Designs + 1 "Extra"
JOE TOO COOL TO SMOKE
The story of Joe Too Cool to Smoke was featured in newspapers and on TV. The goal for sponsor William Mercer, M.D. was to bring awareness to the fact that 86% of high school students in his home state of West Virginia smoke and, in turn, help promote clean air not just in West Virginia but all over the United States.
The state of West Virginia got involved with Dr. Mercer’s efforts before the statue was even complete. A grant was given which allowed the statue to rotate between every elementary and middle school in West Virginia to be displayed and encourage kids not to smoke. And one lucky 5th grader’s drawing was chosen by the governor to be the image painted on the bottom of Snoopy’s foot.
The message reached more than kids in schools. Two billboards with the Joe Cool design were posted along state highways. Also, the efforts of Dr. Mercer grabbed the attention of former baseball player Joe Garagiola and his anti-chewing tobacco campaign. They even combined their efforts to help each other’s cause.
Artist Elizabeth Charpiot was proud to work with Dr. Mercer on this project. She created about 15 rough drafts before coming up with the winning combination of details that made everyone happy. “I’ve had a couple people tell me this is going to touch so many lives. It makes me step back and say, ‘You know, you’re right.’ That’s a pretty cool thing to be a part of. I really believe in what he’s doing.”
- Artist: Elizabeth Charpiot & Vicki Lewis
- Sponsor: William C. Mercer, M.D.
- Location during the summer of 2007: 115 Talbot Ave.
- Auction Status: Kept by the sponsor then on display at various elementary schools in West Virginia.
- Westland: #18247
2010 Look Out, It's Lucy! 32 Designs
LUCY SINGS THE BLUES
Lady Sings the Blues (1972) was a motion picture starring Diana Ross as Billie Holiday. Music from the title track, sang by Ross, is wrapped around Lucy and spills onto the base. “I love music and am very influenced by it,” said artist Nancy Henry. “I tried to find a song that would be fun and, aside from stealing from Vince Guaraldi, I tried to take it another direction.” Two-thirds of Henry’s prior statues were created with a jazz theme as well.
Lucy’s hair is a celestial sky and contains some very subtle constellations in the form of Peanuts characters.
Much of the film, Lady Sings the Blues, was inspired by Holiday’s disturbing autobiography. She began skipping school at the age of nine, suffered through an unstable home life and was believed to have been abused as a child. Near the end of her life, Holiday’s voice began to deteriorate and, in 1959, at the age of 44, she died of cirrhosis due to several years of substance abuse. Through it all, Holiday is considered one of the most influential jazz singers of all time and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
- Artist: Nancy Henry
- Sponsor: POP Committee
- Location during the summer of 2007: 153 Stony Circle