Foundation Michelangelo

Foundry Michelangelo and Founder Mark Russo Redesign Top Selling Sculpture of Patriotic Bronze Eagle

FM — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 17:00:52 +0000

BATTLE GROUND, Wash., February 8, 2019 – Initially commissioned in 2006, the bronze sculpture The American Patriot depicts a 46” tall American bald eagle landing on article one of the U.S. Constitution with the olive branch containing 13 olives and 13 leaves on one side and 13 arrows clutched in its talons on the other. World-renowned artist Lorenzo E. Ghiglieri created the sculpture after being commissioned by Mark Russo, Founder and Chairman of Foundry Michelangelo. “When I originally had the idea for the piece, I was looking at the back of a one dollar bill and noticed the image, which is also the Great Seal of the United States of America. The image is the American eagle with the olive branch on one side and 13 arrows on the other. A great symbol, I thought; my first question was, how do you sculpt that? As the piece is free floating and not attached to anything. Then, it came to me. Let’s set the piece on top of the U.S. Constitution. When I approached Lorenzo, he loved the design and concept, and we began work on the piece. His only stipulation was that I was the one who had to create the base and constitution the eagle was landing on,” says Mark Russo. “I will make the best eagle I have ever made, but I’m not going to carve out the base and a thousand words, that’s going to be an impossible task,” says Lorenzo.

The constitution did prove to be the biggest challenge with the piece. “This put me to the task as I am a great designer but not a sculptor. How do you place a 100-pound bronze eagle on top of a government document that is pleasing to the eye and that can be cast in the lost wax casting process to the level of a premier world-class sculpture? This was the problem I had to solve, as Lorenzo was currently sculpting an amazing eagle and the best he has ever done. I used polystyrene foam as my base and cut it with a band saw measuring 18” wide by 28” long and 1/4” in depth. This pliable sheet of foam was my base. I inserted sculpting armature into all the edges so that it would hold its shape into the final design. The next step was the text. I hired an engraving company to digitally etch the font and script from Article One of the U.S. Constitution into a copper plate. After five different attempts, perfection was discovered as we lasered the text onto a 1/16-inch magnesium plate. This allowed me to bend the text and plate into the clay and foam base that I created making the perfect base for the piece. Most importantly the plate was readable, and we were able to pull a great master mold impression from the original creation,” says Mark Russo.

The American Patriot was originally created as a limited edition in bronze with an edition size of 777. After successfully selling 167 of the pieces, the original rubber/plaster mold began to deteriorate to a point where no more castings could be produced, so the sculpture was no longer marketed. At the request of numerous high-end art galleries and new customers wanting the piece, Mark Russo and Foundry Michelangelo decided to restore and redesign the sculpture. “That was one of our hottest selling pieces. It generated millions of dollars in revenue, and now it’s time to bring it back, but we need to make it even better,” says Russo. The process was relatively simple in that the company used the original mold and poured a soft wax of the piece. Although the mold was in bad shape most of the eagle poured very well, and the part that was in the worst condition was the text from the constitution. The good news was that Mark kept the magnesium plate used for the original production. A new more detailed eagle was re-sculpted, the piece was raised a few inches, and a new base was made to include a medallion with the Great Seal of the United States. The edition size was also reduced to only 350 in bronze, 10 in pure silver, and 1 in solid gold. Now complete, the piece is truly amazing. Over 20 of the new Eagles have already been cast in bronze with many more on order. Our second pure silver American Patriot was also cast with over 1000 troy ounces of .999 pure silver, and another three silver pieces have already been ordered. This new image is now on display in many high-end art galleries to include locations in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Aspen, Vail, Beaver Creek, Colorado, and many others. On Jan. 9 of 2019, Foundry Michelangelo unveiled the 1000 troy ounce silver eagle at the National Annual Safari Club Convention in Reno, Nevada.

About Foundry Michelangelo

Foundry Michelangelo has a diverse business platform, creating and providing fine art in original sculptures from small desktop images and collectibles to larger than life heroic monuments. The company’s master mold collection contains over 1000 original molds from world-famous artists in the United States and around the globe. For more information, visit foundrymichelangelo.com.

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Mark Russo and Casey Powell of Foundry Michelangelo Purchase Priceless Master Mold Collection

FM — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 17:00:48 +0000

Battle Ground, Washington, February 7, 2019 -Mark Russo, Chairman and Founder of Foundry Michelangelo, and Casey Powell, CEO, proudly announce a confidential asset purchase by parent company, Treasure Investment Corporation. This includes over 1,000 master sculpture molds, in a superb collection of works, one that was assembled during the past 40 years. Over 200 world-famous master artists are represented, including Frederic Remington, C. M. Russel, Edgar Degas, and Auguste Rodin.

The acquisition of this collection now allows FM to cast these extraordinary images from these molds in bronze, silver, resin and other mediums. Adding to FM’s already phenomenal master mold collection, the company can now cast nearly 2,000 different pieces. “The time and effort that went into creating over 1,000 molds are truly amazing. The cost alone just to replace these, even if possible, would exceed ten million dollars and that’s just the cost for the molds. The rights to reproduce these images would cost many times that.” says Russo

This additional collection represents artists’ works from all over the world and in sizes ranging from tabletop objects, a few inches tall, to heroic, monumental size pieces standing over 12’ in height. “Having this massive and broad base of images and subject matter will allow FM to not just focus on high-end sales but small images as well, and at lower price points. This will allow us the opportunity to place our pieces in high-end galleries and literally thousands of locations and points of distribution.” Says Casey Powell, CEO.

Orders for pieces from the new mold collection are already arriving. The delivery of 21 Fredric Remington works in original sizes have already been delivered to the company’s Battle Ground, Washington headquarters and are being prepared for shipment. “We have never been more excited than we are now. Adding this collection of master molds to our asset base was an incredible move and could not have come at a better time.”, says Mark Russo, Founder, of Foundry Michelangelo.

www.foundrymichelangelo.com

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Pacific Northwest Master Sculptor, Laran Ghiglieri, To Create Heroic Monument for Foundation Michelangelo Corp.

FM — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 21:04:07 +0000

Battle Ground, WA, Jan. 08, 2019 — Foundation Michelangelo’s founder, Mark Russo, awarded this latest commission to Laran Ghiglieri, son of the world-renowned Lorenzo Ghiglieri. Laran, endowed with his father’s brilliant talent, skillset and passion, adapts his own techniques as he creates these heroic works. “Laran is the right artist for this project. He works with impressive efficiency, and we really do work well together and just finished several other pieces for us. They are incredible. The extraordinary stagecoach sculpture took almost one year to complete. Demand is high, and it is selling as quickly as we can cast it. Admirers who have chosen one of these works for their own collections agree this western piece is unlike anything else on earth. We agree. It’s breathtaking!” says Mark Russo.

Laran recently completed several commissions for Foundation Michelangelo. The most recent examples include a 34” bronze Grizzly Bear entitled Prize Catch, a 38” bronze American Bald Eagle, Bold Spirit, and, what has now become one of FM’s most-sought-after pieces, Stage Coach Gold. Laran Ghiglieri’s Stage Coach Gold is a stunning seven-foot long Concord stagecoach drawn by a distinctive six-horse team. Each horse is an individual study: powerfully built, reacting to the driver’s whip, straining to pull the magnificent coach to safety.

Within the genre of wildlife artists, few compare to Laran Ghiglieri. His works are in private collections, and on public display, worldwide. Having created over 100 limited edition bronzes, many of his pieces have sold for over $100,000. Tens of thousands of his bronzes have sold, and most of his earlier limited editions are entirely sold out.

Mark Russo, Foundation Michelangelo Corp. founder, knew that Laran was the right artist for this important commission. Working from his studio in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and close to FM’s headquarters in Battle Ground, Washington, Laran has completed the original pencil renderings. After meticulously detailing the final drawings, he’ll begin the sculpting process, building upon a wood and steel armature platform using professional-grade foam. Laran will then use a special artisan wax for the final detail work. The result will be a pair of larger-than-life American Bald Eagles violently grappling over a salmon.

Once Laran completes the wax original, FM will carefully transport the piece to its foundry where the master mold will be created. Upon completion of the mold, which will include numerous in-process, quality-control inspections, the Foundation Michelangelo team will proceed with production of the piece, cast in bronze, in a limited edition of only 50. Once completed, and over 10’ in height, it will be quite simply, spectacular!

About Foundation Michelangelo Corp

FM has a diverse business platform, creating and providing fine art in original sculptures from small desktop images and collectibles to larger-than-life heroic monuments. The company’s master mold collection contains hundreds of original molds from world-famous artists in the United States and Europe. For more information, visit Fineart1.com.

Media Contact:

Mark Russo

Foundation Michelangelo

(360) 954-5453

mark@fineart1.com

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Karl ‘Casey’ Powell Takes the Helm as President and CEO of Foundation Michelangelo

FM — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 20:48:20 +0000

BATTLE GROUND, Wash., Oct. 9, 2018 — Foundation Michelangelo Founder and Chairman Mark Russo is pleased to announce that Karl “Casey” Powell has joined FM as president and CEO, effective Oct. 1, 2018.

Casey was the founder of Sequent Computer Systems in 1983 and acted as president, chairman, and CEO until it was acquired by IBM in 1999 for $1 billion in cash. Sequent built the world’s first symmetric multiprocessor computers by creating an innovative architecture that is still utilized today in multicore commercial multiprocessors. This architecture provides low-cost, powerful computer systems replacing giant single processors with inexpensive, mainframe systems. When acquired by IBM, Sequent employed over 3,000 people, with operations around the world.

Before founding Sequent, Casey was general manager for Intel’s Microprocessor Operations.

Following the sale of Sequent, as principal of Eagle II Consulting, Casey was responsible for the successful turnaround of several technology companies around the United States.

A graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Casey has always volunteered his time in numerous community and professional organizations: former chairman of the National Electronics Association Oregon Chapter, member of the board of the National Electronics Association and president and member of the Board of Trustees for St. Vincent’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Casey is also a commercial, instrument-rated, multi-engine pilot with over 5,000 hours of personal flight, including 2,500 hours of Learjet and Citation 5 time and 1,500 hours of Single Pilot Citation 5 time. As a drag racing enthusiast, Casey has acted as a driver, sponsor and team owner with the National Hot Rod Association.

Foundation Michelangelo is excited to have such an experienced, capable and dynamic leader as Casey Powell at its helm, enabling FM to expand and further develop its unique mission and legacy of giving that benefits all involved yet allows all to prosper while focusing on philanthropy.

“I have known Casey for over 20 years; he is a true genius. He built a culture in the company that people still talk about today as the greatest place they have ever worked. Casey knows how to build a business culture, and there is no one better at business functions and operations. Not only did he take his company public and sell it for $1 billion but his annual run rates were $1 billion. We are lucky to have him,” says Mark Russo, founder of FM.

About Foundation Michelangelo Corp.

Media Contact:

Mark Russo
Phone: 360.954.5453
Email: mark@fineart1.com

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Mark Russo and Casey Powell to Attend 2019 Safari Club International for Foundation Michelangelo

FM — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 11:00:33 +0000

BATTLE GROUND, Wash., December 27, 2018 –Mark Russo, Founder of Foundation Michelangelo (FM) with Casey Powell, CEO will be attending the 2019 Safari Club International Annual Convention in Reno, NV, Jan. 9-12.

Foundation Michelangelo (FM) will be setting up a 20’ X 30’ booth display, larger than last year’s 20’ X 20’. FM will have on display over 50 bronze and pure silver castings, including a larger than life bronze sculpture of two fighting elk standing over 10’ tall, 20’ in length, and weighing over 3,000 pounds. Also, on display will be a single life-size bronze elk, two sets of life-size bronze eagles, a life-size bronze of a whitetail deer and over 5,000 ounces of pure silver pieces. The silver castings will include a 1,000 troy ounce silver elephant, 1,000 troy ounce silver lion, bull and bear, 1,000 troy ounce silver eagle and pure silver rhino. “We have an amazing location this year and are very excited to attend. The safari club event is always our favorite and the most fun. Having all the monuments and pure silver pieces should create a good draw for us,” says Russo.

Safari Club International is the world’s largest hunting and sporting exposition. The annual convention draws nearly 50,000 people from all over the world. Safari Club International is not like your normal sportsman shows. Tickets to walk through the doors are over $150.00 each per person, and that’s just to see the booths and exhibits. Clients of the show often spend tens of thousands on goods and products, and in some cases, people will pay millions of dollars at the show.

The Safari Club conference will be the first show of the year for Foundation Michelangelo. The company plans to attend additional conferences throughout the year. “We are very excited to show off all our newest creations including Stage Coach Gold, a 1/10 scale bronze 1860s Concord stagecoach with a six-horse team created by Laran Ghiglieri, it’s amazing,” says Russo.

About Foundation Michelangelo Corp.

Media Contact:

Mark Russo
Phone: 360.954.5453
Email: mark@fineart1.com

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Foundation Michelangelo Receives Heroic Monument Commission From Boyne, USA

FM — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 17:16:30 +0000

BATTLE GROUND, Wash., August 14, 2018

The Gatlinburg SkyLift, which initially opened in the 1950s, is one of the oldest continuously operated attractions in the Smoky Mountains. The popular attraction is located directly across the street from Ripley’s Believe It or Not in downtown Gatlinburg. This vintage chairlift transports visitors to the top of Crocket Mountain for an amazing panoramic view of the National Park and quaint town of Gatlinburg below. It is the number one scenic overlook in Gatlinburg.

Mark Russo, CEO of Foundation Michelangelo (FM), was contacted by one of the principles of Boyne, USA, owner of the SkyLift Resorts, and inquired about FM’s ability to

create the monument. “I received an email inquiry and quickly returned the call explaining that I have been involved with the creation of literally hundreds of monument projects, from 60’ bronze eagles to larger than life whales, animals, religious and historical themes and made installations for parks, zoos, casinos, hotels and incredible sites and locations around the world. After sending a few photos showing the world-class quality of our work, the quick time it takes us to complete a project, and our collaborative process we landed the contract. They sent over a great concept in a drawing, we made it much better and to their liking and now we are creating exactly what the customer wants,” says Russo.

FM starts with input from a client about subject, design, size, and medium. Once FM thoroughly understands what the customer is looking for, a series of renderings are created and modified until it is precisely what is desired. Once agreed upon, a small scale version is created and cast in usually bronze, but other mediums can be requested including resin or precious metals. With the small image complete and accepted, FM will then go to production on the heroic piece.

“We are creating exactly what the customer wants.”

About Foundation Michelangelo Corp

The larger than life-size bronze bears will be complete in about eight weeks and will be installed in the new SkyLift patio area in a recently renovated part of the resort.

This project marks the 7th heroic bronze sculpture to be delivered by FM in just this year alone.

FM has a diverse business platform, creating and providing fine art in original sculptures from small desktop images and collectibles to larger than life heroic monuments. The company’s master mold collection contains hundreds of original molds from world-famous artists in the United States and Europe. For more information, visit Fineart1.com.

Media Contact:

Mark Russo

Phone: 360.954.5453

Email: mark@fineart1.com

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Foundation Michelangelo and CEO Mark Russo Lights the Fire on Its Jet Engines at Barrett-Jackson in Connecticut

FM — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 17:10:48 +0000

Battleground, WA July 31, 2018 – Foundation Michelangelo attended its first-ever Barrett-Jackson Conference in Connecticut.

As stated on the Barrett-Jackson website homepage, “Barrett- Jackson produces The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions® in Scottsdale, Arizona; Palm Beach, Florida;

Mohegan Sun in Connecticut and Las Vegas, Nevada. In

addition to the millions watching the event via live worldwide television coverage on Discover channel and Velocity, over 500,000 people are in attendance at all four auctions, looking to witness auction action at its best, capture the car of their dreams, learn more about collector cars through ‘Behind the Hobby’ symposiums, mingle with celebrities, experience heart-stopping thrill rides in the latest vehicles from America’s top automakers – or shop in the vast Exhibitor Marketplace.”

Foundation Michelangelo (FM) partners with Marine Turbine Technologies (MTT) and Ted McIntyre to display both an incredible fine art collection and the world’s fastest production jet-powered motorcycles. “I met Ted, a true engineering genius, almost 20 years ago when I purchased my first jet-powered motorcycle, right after Jay Leno bought his. I visited the Barrett-Jackson event in Scottsdale last year and witnessed exhibits that were amazing and an audience that spent several-hundred-million dollars on cars in just a few days. At that moment, I knew we had to get a booth at this amazing event, but not just with fine art; we needed to bring something automotive-based. So I thought – why not bring the most amazing motorcycles in the world to show with our finest bronze and silver sculptures? I wanted to bring the two together and not only did we do it, but dozens of people said we had the best booth at the show. Our booth overflowed with attendees; we couldn’t speak to everyone. Our team was positively overwhelmed,” says Mark Russo, CEO of FM.

“Why not bring the most amazing motorcycles in the world to show with our finest bronze and silver sculptures?”

Barrett-Jackson was an incredible success for FM. The company learned a lot from the show and identified new market opportunities. FM is preparing to be a major exhibitor at the big Barrett- Jackson event in Scottsdale, Arizona, early next year.

About Foundation Michelangelo Corp

Media Contact:

Mark Russo

Phone: 360.954.5453

Email: mark@fineart1.com

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Foundation Michelangelo Hits Home run at the MoneyShow in Las Vegas

FM — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 16:56:58 +0000

Battleground, WA, July 24, 2018 Treasure Investments Corporation attended the MoneyShow in Las Vegas with incredible results. The MoneyShow, founded in 1981, is a privately held financial media company headquartered in Florida. The company has a global network of investing and trading partners. MoneyShow presents an extensive agenda of live and online events that attract over 75,000 investors, traders, and financial advisers from around the world.

As a sponsor of the show, Foundation Michelangelo (FM) displayed an art collection in a large 10’ X 20’ booth at the entrance of the exhibition hall. FM was also invited to present the company during the opening ceremonies in front of thousands of investors. Kim Githler, CEO of the MoneyShow, gave a gracious introduction for Foundation Michelangelo and Michael Sheppard, Senior Consultant for FM, delivered the opening presentation for FM at the conference. “After the introduction and presentation, we were very busy at our booth. Our team made many presentations to very interested investors. As a result of just that event, not only did we sell many pieces from our collections, we raised a substantial amount of investor equity and welcomed many valuable and enthusiastic shareholders to our family,” says Mark Russo, CEO of Foundation Michelangelo.

Foundation Michelangelo will be sponsoring and participating in the upcoming MoneyShow in San Francisco on Aug. 23-25 and also the Dallas, Texas conference in October.

“We welcomed many valuable and enthusiastic shareholders to our family”

About Foundation Michelangelo Corp

Media Contact:

Mark Russo
Phone: 360.954.5453
Email: mark@fineart1.com

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Foundation Michelangelo and CEO Mark Russo Strike Gold at the NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas

FM — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 15:20:03 +0000

Battle Ground, Washington, July 23, 2018

– Foundation Michelangelo and CEO Mark Russo Strike Gold at the NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas

Foundation Michelangelo (FM) setup a spectacular display at the 147th National Rifle Association Annual Meeting (NRAAM) in Dallas, Texas. FM displayed in a 10’ X 20’ booth space located in one of the main conference halls. “Our booth space was in a good location. We also placed 3 separate art displays at all registration locations and that was magic, as we knew it would be hard for nearly 100,000 people attending to see all the booths considering the massive size of the conference halls.”

“The 3 strategically placed art displays drove clients right to our booth and produced great results as we sold large collections, mainly of our eagles and patriotic themes,” says Russo.

“Nearly 100,000 people attending”

FM donated one of its eagle sculptures to the NRA main auction event which raised $20,000 at the live dinner gala during the conference.

This was FM’s first appearance at the NRA Annual Meeting and so good were the results, the company will be attending next year’s event in Indianapolis. “We are very excited about attending next year’s event. Our booth will be even bigger and will include a larger collection of art,” says Russo.

To learn more about the company and its work with nonprofits, visit Fineart1.com.

About Foundation Michelangelo Corp

Media Contact:

Mark Russo

Phone: 360.954.5453

Email: mark@fineart1.com

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Foundation Michelangelo and Mark Russo Sizzle in Orlando at the World Money Show

FM — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 21:06:13 +0000

BATTLE GROUND, Wash., July 16, 2018 – The Money Show, founded in 1981, is a privately held financial media company headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, as a global network of investing and trading education.

Money Show presents an extensive agenda of live and online events that attract over 75,000 investors, traders and financial advisors from around the world.

Foundation Michelangelo (FM) was given the opportunity to attend and exhibit at the Orlando Money Show conference. “After being accepted to attend the trade show, it was a great honor for us to show our company opportunity and product to this incredible and investor-minded audience,” says Mark Russo, CEO of Foundation Michelangelo.

“This venue is very exciting for us because we get to share the vision of the company, what we do, how we do it, our growth potential and the opportunity for an investor to own stock in our company,” says Russo.

“This venue is very exciting because we get to share the vision of the company.”

Mark Russo – CEO, Foundation Michelangelo Corp

FM set up a beautiful display showing our bronze and pure silver sculptures and was also given the opportunity to present our company offering in a breakout session explaining the business model to interested investors. “We sold product at the event and generated a lot of shareholder interest; there is nothing like our charity auction model. It was a success,” says Ricky Reed, manager for FM.

To learn more about the company and its work with nonprofits, visit Fineart1.com.

About Foundation Michelangelo Corp

Foundation Michelangelo Corp has a diverse business platform, creating and providing fine art in original sculptures from small desktop images and collectibles to larger-than-life heroic monuments. The company’s master mold collection contains hundreds of original molds from world-famous artists in the United States and Europe. For more information, visit Fineart1.com.

Media Contact:

Mark Russo

Phone: 360.954.5453

Email: mark@fineart1.com

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