From the statue of Honest Abe and his horse, Old Bob, standing proud at President Lincoln’s Cottage in DC, to the much-touched bronze of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, and the iconic statue of George and Martha Washington at Mount Vernon, Ivan Schwartz and his team at StudioEIS in Brooklyn, NY, are prolific and talented. It was a pleasure to interview him last month at his studio. Scroll down for our Q&A. And be sure to watch our interview on GratefulAmericanTV.com.

All month long we’re celebrating our nation’s independence! We mark the occasion on our website with a new column: Words of Wisdom. We hope you’ll start your day with inspiration from the Founding Fathers and Mothers, US presidents and first ladies, and other influential Americans who helped shape the nation.

Here’s one of our favorites from Benjamin Franklin: “Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing.”

Happy Birthday™ America! — David Bruce Smith and the Grateful American™ team