Oh deer! Riverstone commissions community art project

April 15, 2011

One of Sugar Land’s premier artists is bringing his work to Riverstone in permanent installations that embrace the community’s natural surroundings.

Bob Pack, who has installations and collections throughout the nation, is working on 10 life-size bronze sculptures of white-tail deer that are tentatively set to be installed this September.

He started working on the sculptures in late February. Each will be distinctive and several will be grouped together in different locations throughout Riverstone. It’s the first installment of an art project that might also include a flock of mallards in the future.

“I’ve visited Riverstone several times for inspiration,” Pack said. “The deer will blend in nicely as would ducks — the many lakes and waterways in Riverstone really lend themselves to water fowl.”

A resident of Sugar Land for nearly 40 years, Pack began sculpting full-time in 1978. He has several notable pieces in his hometown, including the Stephen F. Austin monument in Sugar Land Town Square and The Guardian at the Sugar Land Police headquarters.

“It is not unusual for a project like the Riverstone deer to take six months to a year,” Pack said. “The sculpture at the Sugar Land Town Square was a two-year project.”

His life-size rendition of “Christ, the Good Shepherd” is the centerpiece of the Hope Garden at Sugar Land First United Methodist Church. Pack presented the first cast of that sculpture, sized for a tabletop, to Pope John Paul II. Pack also has a series, “Birds of Fort Bend County,” on display through Sept. 6 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Sugar Land.

For more information on the artist and to see some of his work online, visit www.bobpack.com.