The 48-inch working model, left, beside her 24-inch study in Brittany Ryan’s studio.
Sculptor Brittany Ryan has begun the 48-inch working model of the Orange County Armenian Genocide Memorial.
In April, at the 111th Armenian Genocide Commemoration, we unveiled Brittany Ryan’s twelve-inch conceptual maquette: a mother carrying her child, surrounded by cranes in flight. Six months later, that small figure has grown into something you can stand beside.
Ryan is now sculpting a 48-inch working model in clay. At four times the scale of the maquette, the figure has room for what a twelve-inch study can only suggest — the set of the mother’s jaw, the grip of her hands around her child, the wind pulling her dress behind her as she presses forward.
This is the stage where the sculpture’s character is decided. The tilt of her head, the weight of each step, the way she shelters her child — choices made in clay at this scale carry forward into the full eleven-foot figure and, finally, into bronze.
The cranes in flight that surround the mother in the maquette, the krunk, symbol of longing for the homeland, remain part of the final design and will join the figure as the work progresses.
Close-up of the 48-inch figure’s face and the child. Caption: At 48 inches, the mother’s expression and the child in her arms begin to take on detail.
Before beginning the larger figure, Ryan sculpted a 24-inch study, her first pass at creating the sculpture while working from a life model. Working from life gives the figure its weight and its truth: how a real body leans into the wind, and how real arms hold a child close.
About the sculptor
Brittany Ryan of Laguna Beach was formally commissioned for the memorial in January 2026. She received First Place in Sculpture at the Portrait Society International Competition (2021) and the Gold Medal Award at the National Sculpture Society’s 87th Annual Awards (2020), and has served as Sculpture Department Coordinator at Laguna College of Art + Design since 2014.
When she accepted the commission, Ryan said she hoped to create a sculpture that “invites empathy and solidarity” — one that lets viewers feel the strength, grief, and resilience of a mother protecting her child, and sense where these figures are going and what propels them forward.
“Seeing the mother’s face emerge at this scale, you begin to understand what she will be for this community: not only a memorial to what was lost, but a witness to who survived. Every week in Brittany’s studio brings her closer to the Great Park.” — Dr. Kev Abazajian, President, Orange County Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee
What comes next
Ryan will continue refining the working model, which will guide detailed engineering, enlargement, and bronze casting. The memorial is scheduled for installation in Spring 2028 in the Heart of the Park at the Irvine Great Park, where it will be the first public Armenian Genocide memorial in Orange County.
How you can help
The memorial’s $750,000 installation budget is being raised entirely through community support, and the City of Irvine has committed to its permanent maintenance once installed. Contributions to the Orange County Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee, a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit, are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. The first twenty donors at the Founder’s Circle level ($25,000 and above) will receive a numbered bronze cast of Ryan’s twelve-inch maquette.
Give at this link, or by check payable to OC Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee, 5305 W McFadden Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92704.
Portrait of Brittany Ryan in her studio (supplied by the artist).
