Breaking the Surface
Breaking the Surface at W.H. Davy Memorial Park
Making a colorful splash at Davy Memorial Park in Moorhead, MN. Myself and Emily Williams-Wheeler brought some color to this park environment with Breaking the Surface, a public art installation of 5 oversized, playful fiberglass beavers. In 2021, when the City of Moorhead asked for artists to imagine a piece of art that would be central to the community, we wanted to create something vibrant and iconic, while considering the park location. Thinking about the proximity to the river and ideas about community, the beaver became a metaphor and icon for the project. Beavers can be seen throughout the Red River Valley and are symbols of group persistence and hard work.
A little behind the scenes: First, the beaver was prototyped in clay in a swimming pose. Then sheets of insulation foam were stacked into a block and carved away reductively to create a model for the mold work in its final dimensions, approximately 6’ long by 3’ wide and 30” high. After refining and hard-coating, the sculpture was delivered to Fiberstock, to have a mold created and fiberglass casts made. The project was installed in July 2022.
Making a colorful splash at Davy Memorial Park in Moorhead, MN. Myself and Emily Williams-Wheeler brought some color to this park environment with Breaking the Surface, a public art installation of 5 oversized, playful fiberglass beavers. In 2021, when the City of Moorhead asked for artists to imagine a piece of art that would be central to the community, we wanted to create something vibrant and iconic, while considering the park location. Thinking about the proximity to the river and ideas about community, the beaver became a metaphor and icon for the project. Beavers can be seen throughout the Red River Valley and are symbols of group persistence and hard work.
A little behind the scenes: First, the beaver was prototyped in clay in a swimming pose. Then sheets of insulation foam were stacked into a block and carved away reductively to create a model for the mold work in its final dimensions, approximately 6’ long by 3’ wide and 30” high. After refining and hard-coating, the sculpture was delivered to Fiberstock, to have a mold created and fiberglass casts made. The project was installed in July 2022.
