MICHAEL DAVID WICKERSON

This special gift is for our mid-wife, Sara Wallbaum. She truly wrestled with bringing Max into this world. Our thanks cannot be expressed enough. – Michael, Beth, and Oscar

A beacon of light shines across the cold November field while Beth gives life to her second son, Max Oliver Wickerson, 200 yards away in front of the family hearth. He is a giant.

Authenticity has become a key word in my life and it reflects my ability to positively affect the existing world around me. It is a force that can be defined by work and distance, however I recognize that my heart must power the work and the distance covered must be done through personal vision.

photo credit: CornbreadWorks

Interested in the architecture of happiness, Michael Wickerson has nurtured a relationship with Architect/directeur Erik Muelenbelt from Naked Architecture in The Netherlands. Both Erik and Michael share several interests: dealing with the possibilities of reconstructing old machines that give a city a unique medieval atmosphere, incorporating linear metal castings into existing buildings and structures, and the construction and installation of a U-tope at Wickerson Studios in the United States. Sustaining a working and living environment off of any grid system remains the most difficult and exciting question faced by both artist and architect in this international exchange of ideas.

The foundry is the labour-atory. Raised and rammed from the dead trees and surrounding mud, this building houses the equipment required to cast liquid iron and bronze and the machines capable of manipulating and transforming cold steel. Traditional lost wax castings find their form within this earthwork and the artist’s endurance and strength are tested within its walls.

Stationary Equipment:
bronze foundry, horizontal band saw, vertical band saw, drill press, AC welder, table saw, hot saw, compressor, cement mixer, generator, 250-amp stove for burnout, bridge crane, vertical boom

Hand Machines:
grinder, saws-all, drills, skill saw, router, chainsaw

Hand Tools:
wheelbarrow, dolly, shovels, spades, diggers, axes

Garden Food:
oats, wheat, rye, barley, corn, watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, hops, broccoli

Just in case you are interested, I am casting 40-pound pots of silicon bronze in under one hour in my backyard. I only use Kingston charcoal and a gas generator. I am completely off the grid. The power is fantastic to witness. Like I said, to witness the furnace in full action is overwhelming. I must act in the early morning hours to avoid heat exhaustion. I melted a steel lid this morning and had plenty of time to clean the bronze before pouring. I call the foundry the Grieve Foundry, and I feel completely authentic in my actions. My anxiety has transformed into pure adrenaline.

I have been wrestling with this for a week and finally I managed to turn this gas furnace into a coke-fired furnace. I have been able to melt silicon bronze with 40 pounds of coke in the furnace and 2 gallons of gasoline in the generator in order to run the blower. It takes about 2 1/2 hours to melt. The trick is to burn the coke evenly around the pot and keep the pot from dropping. This is very frustrating, but I enjoy the struggle.

I have decided to clean up the woodland on my property and set the timber into a new building on the foundation that once supported an old red barn. I have cut down most of the trees I require and I am currently hauling the felled trunks with bloc and tackle.

I wish to continue supporting the casting processes introduced to Shawnee Mission West High School students over the past two years in collaboration with the sculpture department at KCAI.

Traditional methods of casting are not commonly introduced and accomplished in the general curriculum at the high school level. Students interested in physics, chemistry, and engineering will all be able to take a keen interest in this ancient project. Many students will discover their personal voice through exploring their ability to craft forms and function in a complex studio environment.