Often credited with the famous "on the shoulders of giants" quote, Sir Isaac Newton actually borrowed the phrase from a mathematician centuries earlier and wrote it in a letter to a fellow physicist, a man of smaller stature than Newton who took the phrase as a personal insult.

Sculp-Tours owner Tony Motto tells this story each time he passes the "On the Shoulders of Giants" sculpture on one of his many art tours through The Woodlands. The sculpture also serves as an inspiration to Motto, who credits the artists, Woodlands founder George Mitchell and Coulson Tough—whose idea it was to fund public art in The Woodlands—for inspiring him to begin Sculp-Tours.

"Because of what they have done, I'm allowed to share this wonderful collection with people, which is the most fun I could ever have," Motto said.

Motto began Sculp-Tours in 2010 to provide tours to tourists, residents and their families of the more than 50 public sculpture installations in The Woodlands. The program features two tours, each costing $15 per person and with stops at about 20 sculptures on either the eastern or western side of The Woodlands. Motto holds tours for anywhere from two to 24 people, with trips lasting about an hour-and-a-half.

"If we get the right group, we'll do the eco-taxi, which really gets them close to the sculptures and allows them to really feel a part of the tour," Motto said.

With the eastern or western tour, Motto said both sides of The Woodlands feature an abundance of realistic and abstract outdoor sculptures. He provides background information on each piece, including everything from the artist to the materials used. Motto said The Woodlands' collection is the largest of its kind for a community of its size in the nation.

"Normally a community such as ours would have land donated, they'd build a fence around it, stuff it full of sculptures, charge an admission and call it a sculpture garden," Motto said. "Ours are literally in our backyards."

A steel worker in the 1980s, Motto, 55, said he went back to school to follow his passion of becoming an art teacher. Upon graduating, he moved to The Woodlands and taught at David Elementary in 1990.

"I came down here to teach art, and right off the sculptures just appealed to me because of my steel working background," he said.

Motto created woodlandsart.com in 1994 and compiled a book, "The Woodlands Outdoor Sculptures," in 2009 to highlight every sculpture added from 1994-2009. The book instigated a need for Sculp-Tours, he said. The money earned through Sculp-Tours funds the Greater Woodlands Public Art Foundation, which maintains and protects the public art.

Sculp-Tours Tour Information

• When: Tours can begin at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. seven days a week and last about an hour-and-a-half.
• Cost: Admission is $15 per person for groups smaller than 20 and $10 per person for groups larger than 20. Owner Tony Motto offers tours for groups of 2-24 people.
• Transportation: Smaller groups travel on an electric eco-taxi, while larger groups travel on a small rental bus.

Sculp-Tours, 281-467-8818, www.woodlandsart.com