Home of the Innocents bronzes

This is ascension. It has yet to be sandblasted and have a patina applied

Here is Metamorphosis with butterflies flying from the blanket.

A side view of the butterflies

This is Art Castings Foundry in Loveland, Colorado where the sculptures for the Home of the Innocents are being cast.

The waxes are dipped into ceramic slurry (a 14 day process to build up a sufficient shell) and are then put into a burnout
oven where the wax is melted out and the ceramic shell hardens. When the shells come out of the oven they are ready to be filled with bronze.

Here is the bronze being poured. It is over 2,000 degrees fahrenheit.

These are the areas where individual sculptures are "chased" Chasing means that the places where the gates and sprues were attached, as well as welded areas, are carved to duplicate the original surface of the sculpture.

While posting pictures from my trip to the Colorado foundry, I found a couple of images that I thought were interesting.
This is an odd flower, no idea what it is. It had been raining and the light was getting low, so I had to use a flash. But that made it stand out more from the background.

This is the summit of Sundance Mountain.

Charles City sculpture "Reading Girl" installed

Here is the almost finished sculpture. I have finished the cloth texture on her left, and have crayoned what I need to carve
on her right side. I have also made marks on her fingers as to where texture needs to be applied.

She is rigged up and ready to be loaded.

Derrick of JBB, inc. loads the sculpture with the crane while Don steadies it.

She is loaded and ready to go...

The sculpture crosses the Mississipi river.

Don positions the truck while Doug Kamm of Kamm Excavating sets up the crane in preparation for moving the sculpture into the site.

Don signals to Doug while Veronica Litterer, my contact person, watches from a safe distance.

This is a llama that is brought in to visit the children at the daycare across the street. It was just hilarious to see him
riding along, just like a dog, he seems to really enjoy it.

David, Dan and Shawn of Outdoor Designs Inc. discuss setting the pavers.

David of Outdoor Design Inc. lays the pavers down to determine their new line. The pavers will then be individually cut so that they form a curve.
The sculpture is covered to protect it from dust.

Don watches as David, Dan and Shawn pile dirt in around the sculpture.

Jeff Otto, owner of garden center "Otto's Oasis", plants the Vinca Minor, which is an evergreen groundcover. The variety is Atropurpurea and will they grow approximately 4-6" high and have a purplish pink flowers in the spring. The plants should fill the area beneath the book and hands nicely, without overwhelming them. The flowers represent the ideas that become a part of us when we read.

The sculpture, as seen from the side. The plants will fill in around her back and below her arm.

Jim Arnt, a local resident looks at the completed "Reading Girl".

The rest of this post will show things that I have found around the Wildlife Area. I have no idea what plant this is. The flowers are very tiny. They don't even read as flowers a few feet away.

I believe this is called an Ambush bug, kind of looks like a cross between a crab and a dinosaur.

This is some type of grasshopper. What a face!