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I was contacted in June by art consultant Suzy Locke, who said that she represented a restaurant group in San Francisco,Lark Creek, and that they desired for me to design a sculpture for the center of their new steak house, for installation by the end of September. The design was based on Hemisphere 93 Germination ( http://brianrussellstudio.com/pages/profile.cgi?brid=38). The architiect, Mark Stevens of Architecture and Light, had designed a 31 foot long, 42" high narrow elliptical divider down the center of the space, between two sets of booth tables. The idea was to have a series of five hemispheres set out along the divider, centerd at each able, on 6' 3" centers. There would be uplights in the surface of the wooden divider. Additionally, 10-12" high glass panels would run between the hemispheres to serve as a visual and sound barrier between the booths.The imagery that I thought of was of blowing grass/undulating sea with steer heads/ yachts floating along. Steak and seafood, get it? I visited the site in mid July, where Mark showed me the color palette of muted olives and ambers. The glass colors I chose, yellows, and olive with lime complement the overalll scheme by being in the same group but of a higher value. This provides a very dynamic, vibrant energy to the entire space without being garish.

By the end of July, we had the details worked out and construction began. Each piece of glass was modeled in wax ( lost wax casting) , cast and cooled for a week. I was very concerned that, even without the inevitable setback, there might not be enough time to do all of the casting. But, necessity being the mother of invention, I gained some new effieciencies in technique. After a record 6 week marathon in 100 degree temperatures we had successfully cast over 600 lbs of glass in 30 pieces. My helper Dale forged nearly 400 steel pieces and I assembled the whole lot into 5 sections of a steel matrix. The glass panels are thicker at the bottom and fit in a gap down the middle of the matrix.The hemispheres and their yellow steer horns rest upon the matrix. Run Wild was shipped to San Francisco on time on September 14 in 22 crates and boxes. Three days before the September 28 opening I arrived and after a 3 hour installation, it was finished. That night a wonderful "test" dinner of filet, wild mushrooms and the house label Syrah provided a brief moment of glory basking, as the feedback from the owners and partners was 100% positive. Lark Creek Steak is located in the new Westfield Center, 835 Market Street.