Lawn art on its way

Henderson artist Vern Friesen is responsible for a York first, a life-size bronze sculpture. Friesen was commissioned by Friends of Kilgore Memorial Library to create a sculpture for the library lawn — lawn art.
The Friesen sculpture project came about as the result of a conversation with Library Director Stan Schulz. Schulz had been thinking for some time about the possibility of adding an attractive piece of art to the grounds of the library. Schulz thought placing something on the north side of the building along Sixth Street would create interest, so he approached Friesen with the idea.
Working through necessary stages as sculptors have for centuries, Friesen’s design began to take shape; first in oil-based clay, then wax and finally bronze.
  It was wax molds that Friesen loaded into his pickup truck and transported to Denver. There, the actual bronze sculpture was cast. In Denver, a ceramic shell was placed around the wax mold. High heat then burned away the wax leaving space for the bronze. Intense heat, reaching temperatures of 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit would set the bronze. At that point, the ceramic shell was broken off revealing the bronze sculpture.
  According to Vern the sculpture display was cast in several pieces from different molds, welded together and built at the Denver foundry, "They do the welding. It will be sanded. We will use angle grinders and Dremmel tools to replace any detail that was damaged. The whole thing will be sandblasted and a chemical will be applied to create a patina for the desired effect."
 When Friesen picked the sculpture up in Denver, the entire sculpture had been through all of these processes and coated with lacquer to help hold the patina. Lacquer, followed by a couple coats of wax seal the piece.
  According to Friesen, driving from Denver to Henderson with a large bronze sculpture in the bed of your pickup was a real attention getter. The artist said, “Drivers would just slow down and drive alongside of us.” At one stop Friesen reports being asked, “Are you going to a park somewhere?”
  The Friends bronze is Friesen’s third large outdoor sculpture. He is well known for his work, including a large piece entitled "Irrigation" which stands in the Downtown Park of his hometown.
   Friends of the Library Sculpture Committee members Kent Bedient, Joyce Angle, Mary Nettleton, Sue Curran, Mike Teetor and Jerrine Brugh invite the public to attend the unveiling and dedication of the statue on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 2:30 p.m. at the Library.
  Bedient called the sculpture of a grandfather seated in a rocking chair reading to his grandchildren with the family dog at his feet "An enduring legacy and a gift of art to the community.
  Over $50,000  in donations and grants was raised by Friends of the Library in support of the sculpture project.