Local sculptor creates statues for MSU Baseball entrance
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – He may not be as famous as Remington or Rodin, but thousands of fans admire the work of Rusty Reid every Spring.
The retired dentist turned sculptor created the statues of Mississippi State Baseball greats Ron Polk, Will Clark, and Rafael Palmeiro that grace the entrances at Dudy Noble Field.
Reid came late to sculpting, and what started as a hobby has taken up a larger amount of his time.
To help learn the craft, he reached out to his favorite sculptors and asked to watch them work. Some became mentors to him.
When he began to work on the MSU statues, he spent time with his subjects to get a feel for their personalities and find out what details were important to them.
For him, that project was a labor of love.
“You have to really enjoy the process of, maybe, what you’re doing it for. There’s a big difference between what I did for Mississippi State. I donated it. I loved every second. There was zero pressure, but when you’re getting paid by somebody to do it, there is pressure, and it’s different. And so, you have to be careful. The fun can go out of it if it’s a business. Well, I’m retired. It’s not my main business, so I’m very fortunate that I can have fun doing it,” said Reid.
Reid is currently working on commission works and personal projects. The trio of MSU greats was Reid’s first foray into large-scale, monumental work.
