College Completion: Eyes On 2020
By Francie Grace on August 9, 2010
President Obama heads to Austin, Texas, today for a speech in which he is expected to talk about the goal of the U.S. regaining its position as the nation with the highest percentage of college graduates (we're now #12 for citizens aged 25 to 34). For a preview of the speech, see http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/08/09/obama.education/; you can also watch it live at 3 p.m. ET at WhiteHouse.gov/live. Public Agenda has done a lot of work on this issue. Why are so many Americans having a hard time making it from the first day of college to graduation day? And what can be done about it? To learn more, check out our series of reports on college completion, "With Their Whole Lives Ahead Of Them" and "Can I Get A Little Advice Here?".
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"Hauled along with the head was the rest of the bust, which included the top part of a suit complete with a tie and a pin of the American flag.
Adickes said he started making the bust Nov. 5, the day after Election Day. The hardest part, he said, was creating Obama's hair because it is closely cropped, which made it blend in too much with the rest of the sculpture. ""I antiqued his hair by putting paint into the creases of it,"" he said.
Adickes, who lives in Houston, said he began making busts of presidents' heads in 1994 after visiting Mount Rushmore. He said he was bothered because people couldn't get close to the sculptures on the mountain. facebook likes pages
Visitors can get as close as they like to his busts at Presidents Park.
""They can talk to them and touch them,"" he said.
That's what James Ryan, 23, said he wanted to do when he walked past the Obama bust Sunday.
""I feel like I just want to climb up his tie or sit on top of his head,"" Ryan said.
Adickes, who was eating dinner inside Vino Vino with friends, laughed when told about Ryan's comment. ""Well, you can use the tie as a back rub,"" he said."
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