Fred Smith's Concrete Park Workshop

One thing that makes the John Michael Kohler Arts Center such a great place to work with is that they are constantly providing programming that not only serves the community but connects the people in the community with the art they conserve. As an intern on the exhibitions team, I had the opportunity to help out with a workshop at Fred Smith's Concrete Park in Phillips, Wisconsin. It was absolutely amazing and I think it was a massively successful workshop!

Fred Smith was an environment builder. Prior to being an artist, Smith was a logger and a tavern owner. He began building his cast of concrete characters around 1950, when he was 65 years old. He just proves it's never too late to start a new project! He made over 200 sculptures- about 20 a year! They range from pop-culture references, like Ben-Hur, to people he knew, like Mable the Milker, and animals- a whole team of horses and deer! One thing I found to be really interesting was that for some of the animals- like the deer- he used the skeletons as armatures to give him the right shape. Pretty smart, if you ask me! He made most of his own concrete and used found glass to give the sculptures texture and color.

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center was working with the Friends of Fred Smith as part of their Wandering Wisconsin workshop series to bring the community to the sites and express ideas of place through sculpture by creating miniature versions of Fred Smith's creations with modeling clay, glass, and beads.

This picture is of the art center crew getting a tour of the Concrete Park from Sharon of the Friends of Fred Smith. Sharon was a wealth of knowledge and it was really great to get a nice tour from her. 

Regional artists and Lawrence University professors Shimon and Lindemann are working on The Wisconsin Project as part of their exhibit at JMKAC this fall. It's a really fascinating exposé on identity through place. They helped organize this event at the Fred Smith Concrete Park. I'm really looking forward to what they have to show us in the exhibit.

Mable the Milker

Detail of some of the glass used in the sculptures

Some of the creatures made in our workshop!

There was a really good turn out for the workshop, too- over 30 people! A lot of the people were inspired by Fred Smith to create animals or people, while others just went where the clay took them. 

Learning about our medium of the day! 

I think if I were to do this workshop again, I would provide some more structure by offering a small walking tour around the park to point out different aspects of the sculptures. I think it would have also been a good idea to have pictures of the sculptures on the tables. There were pictures of the park on the walls, but they weren't very reference-friendly. I was so impressed at the things people did make, though. All of the people were so friendly and enthusiastic! 

If you're a little bummed that you missed out on the fun- have no fear! We're doing a Plein Air event at the Tellen Woodland Sculpture Garden in Sheboygan. It's a postcard painting contest with a cash prize and we're supplying the materials. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Otherwise I'll just plan on seeing you all there! It's going to be super fun.