Work in Progress
Guadalupe has been commissioned to create "Open Season" to be installed in front of the Governor's Mansion in Cheyenne, Wyoming Summer 2008.
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CHEYENNE ARTIST UNVEILS ORIGINAL CLAY OF BRONZE SCULPTURE FOR GOVERNOR'S RESIDENCE
CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Cheyenne sculptor Guadalupe Barajas this week revealed the clay original of the bronze sculpture bound for the Governor's Residence in September.
The sculpture, entitled "Open Season," features three mule deer leaping in unison over a slope dotted with sage brush. At the top of the buck's antlers near the center of the sculpture, the piece stands nearly 13 feet tall.
"It is the largest and the most prestigious work that I have done,"
Barajas said as he unveiled the clay rendering to Gov. Dave and First Lady Nancy Freudenthal and members of the State Parks and Cultural Resources Department, the Wyoming Arts Council and the Governor's Residence Foundation this week.
"It is an energetic depiction of Wyoming wildlife that is absolutely appropriate for the residence," Gov. Freudenthal said.
First Lady Nancy Freudenthal called the sculpture a "perfect piece"
for the Governor's residence.
"The buck has strong and beautiful lines," she said. "But the doe and yearling are my favorite pieces in the overall sculpture - they're interesting, delicate and feminine. It will truly define the front of the residence in a way that we could not have achieved with plantings or archways."
The process of choosing an artist to create the piece started several years ago, the First Lady said.
The Wyoming Arts Council set up a process for artists to submit portfolios and Barajas was selected as one of three finalists from a group of 20 Wyoming sculptors.
The three finalists were asked to submit clay maquettes of sculptures featuring one or all of these four native Wyoming animals: antelope, elk, bighorn sheep and mule deer. The artists were asked to create pieces that were large enough to be seen from the highway, were aesthetically pleasing from all angles and showed animals in motion.
Selecting the final choice was extremely difficult, the First Lady said.
"This piece really appealed to Dave," she said. "He grew up on a farm near Thermopolis where there were mule deer out in the fields all the time. And for me it was the same where I grew up in Cody."
The full-sized clay of "Open Season" is more than 90 percent Styrofoam, Barajas said, and will be used to create molds for the casting of the bronze sculpture. The sculpture is slightly larger than life with the animals depicted at one and one-quarter size.
Expected to weigh more than 3,000-pounds when completed, the sculpture will sit at the center of a roundabout on the northwest side of the residence, across from the main public entrance.
After months of casting the sculpture in 40 to 60 pieces and seamlessly welding them together, the piece will be ready for installation in September, Barajas said. It will require little to no maintenance once installed.
"It's wonderful to work with this Wyoming artist," Nancy Freudenthal said. "The pride he takes in his work is apparent." |
