Kathy Wardle
2022
Bronze
“Beach Day”, its new work by nationally recognized figurative sculptor Kathy Wardle. Currently in transit from the bronze foundry in Loveland, Colorado, the sculpture is scheduled to arrive in Rockport by May 3 with installation scheduled for Wednesday, May 4, in the heart of downtown.
Made possible by a contribution from an anonymous donor, Beach Day is a 700-pound, one-of-a-kind bronze work conceptualized by the donor, the artist, and RCA with Rockport in mind. Comprised of five individual bronze sculptures depicting a family walking the beach, shells and sand at their feet, the three-quarter life-size pieces will be displayed with prominent visibility at the intersection of South Austin Street and Wharf, on the same block as the new $12.3 million campus currently under construction.
“In 2019, we began work to find a representational sculpture that had a deep connection to who we are in the small coastal community of Rockport, Texas,” said Luis Purón, RCA executive director. “Wardle is one of six artists we interviewed and her design for Beach Day surfaced as the strongest candidate because the concept was specifically tied to our community.”
Wardle completed the long and intricate process of clay molding the sculpture in spring of 2021. The clay sculpture was then enlarged by DuChateau Sculpture Services, a professional 3-D scanning and digital resizing provider in Loveland, Colorado, using 3-D digital scanning and custom-designed milling machines to replicate the specific details of the sculpture in an armature- a high-density foam version of the piece. Dan Ochs of Ochs Wax Pouring of Loveland then began his part of the process, carefully separating the sculpted figures into sections, brushing on coats of rubber over the clay sculpture pieces, followed by a plaster mold. Separated into 30 pieces, wax was then poured into the plaster molds followed by a silica sand mixture used to make ceramic shells over the wax forms as part of the cire perdue (lost wax) process to be completed at the foundry.
Beach Day’s molds were then sent to Bronze Services, Inc. of Loveland, Colorado for the bronzing process. Known as the highest quality bronze fine art foundry in the U.S., the company utilizes top-of-the-line materials and specializes in the lost wax casting process, providing high-end service to acclaimed artists from around the world. Once the bronzing process was completed and the molds were removed, the 30 individual Beach Day sections were carefully welded together and re-sculpted into the five figures using specialized tools to refine the piece to exactly match the original clay sculpture, with the patina added as the final step.
“I use multi-colored patina in my sculptures that allows bright colors other than the traditional browns and ochres to be part of the finished look,” Wardle stated. “I think it adds visual excitement and heightened reality to my work.”
With a Master of Visual Arts and vast experience studying with internationally acclaimed artists, Wardle has been teaching three-dimensional design and creating representational sculptures in bronze for four decades. The work of this Colorado-based artist is technically correct as each piece of clay is shaped and positioned to maximize her intellectual and emotional interpretation of the desired message. Wardle often finds herself marveling over the artistic act of making a lump of clay come alive, becoming intimately involved with the texture, shape, rhythm, and emotion her art conveys.
“I attempt to depict humankind’s finest traits in my artwork,” Wardle said. “Courage, bravery, triumph, hope, kindness, joy and love are emotive themes I have tried to communicate in past works. In Beach Day, I revisit emotions that I believe are eternally important to our humanity. Beach Day shows a family filled with love and joy as they head to the beach for a wonderful day of fun and togetherness.”
In addition to RCA’s first edition Beach Day sculpture, up to four other editions are permitted to be cast by the artist. Including Wardle’s Beach Day, RCA’s public art program will feature a total of 17 pieces of art in its permanent collection.
“One of our primary goals has been to use sculpture to create a conversation about Art that stretches from downtown Rockport to the new campus on Austin Street, and onto the sculptures that are part of the permanent collection located near Aransas Bay and Little Bay,” said Purón.
