Supreme Court of Ohio Judicial Bench

In the summer of 2002 I was asked to design and carve the exterior of The Supreme Court of Ohio Judicial Bench, located in Columbus, Ohio. My design work lasted through the fall of that year and into 2003. Ten months were then spent with mallet and gouge creating the carving.

The project involved designing a 51 foot by 7 inch frieze that wraps around the entire length of the Bench. I designed 12 symbols that represent the history of Ohio Law along with a center medallion. The front of the bench is curved along its length, then angles towards the sides of the room and then parallel along the sides of the bench. A running pattern repeats every few inches and is only separated by the 12 symbols on the Bench’s front and the center medallion.

The project also called for a repeating egg and dart molding, triangular base molding and 11 floral medallions along the front of the Bench.

All the work is done in black walnut to match the existing woodwork in the room. The Bench project was part of a complete renovation of the 11-story building which houses the Supreme Court and opened to the public in April 2004.