The ancient technique of creating a bas-relief brick sculpture is at least 3,000 years old. First practiced in the walled cities of Mesopotamia, the process begins with the carving of designs into stacked blocks of wet clay. The blocks are then dried, fired and stacked in their original order. Featured in this artwork is an image of Glendale’s first fire station and truck.
Jay Tschetter began his design training at the University of Nebraska in 1970. Shortly therafter, he began working for the Alaska Silver and Ivory Co. designing and carving scrimshaw, the art of etching intricate designs on ivory. Later, working as a journeyman bricklayer, he realized the potential of combining his carving expertise with his masonry expertise and began producing brick sculptures. He currently lives and work in Lincoln, Nebraska.
