I love giant Fiberglass sculpture. I just wonder where did the call for them come?
It's clearly a chicken or egg situation.
Did someone just take the chance make some animals & giant people sculptures & wish for the best? Or did some one say, "Hey, I wish I had a giant chicken/horse/gorilla"
Was it miniature golf? But then, where did those giant lumberjacks come from.
weird, indeed.
Just a little side note, Giant "people" were sold to businesses in the 60's for $300.
This horse is looking out a vet's office. The office building is purple.
1 comment:
Heather,
I'm not sure how it all got started so long ago....Maybe someone thought a big chichen would look great outside the 'daylight donuts'??? however before fiberglass came around they would have had to use metal or concrete or plaster over a wooden frame. There are still some of those around this great country of ours.
Fiberglass heralded in a great, inexpensive, way to make these things....AND, they were durable.
A man I use to work for before he retired (and I bought his equipment) had a great uncle that used fiberglass to make a lightweight horse trailer. That way a cowboy could load up his family in the family car and take their horse to the rodeo for a Saturday/Sunday outing. They didn't have to drive the pickup AND car in order to get everyone there. The problem was that the great uncle didn't take a horse with him to the rodeos to show the trailers..so the cowboys would say 'That thing isn't big enough to hold a full-size horse'. Hence he had a hard time selling.
A friend of his in Gibbon, Nebraska was a sculptor. She was commissioned by him to sculpt a full-size Quarterhorse. When it was completed, he fiberglassed it, painted it, and 'off to the rodeo' he went. 'There, see!!! It WILL hold a full-sized horse' he told them.
Well, he didn't sell any trailers at that first rodeo. He did however take orders for over thirty fiberglass horses. He went home with a new venture. He also had Gladys, the sculptor, do two more styles of horses for him and that's how he got started in the fiberglass animal business.
I'm now doing the fiberglass animals (and other objects) for folks all over the United Staes, Germany, Singapore, Canada, etc.
It's tons of fun building something for someone's business to attract attention, as well as the Objects and critters used by communities to put on a public art project.
Hope this helps you a little in your quest!
Patrick
America's Fiberglass Animals
http://PublicArtProjectsOfAmerica.com/
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