Big Fish: Portrait of Allen Ginsborg
Last month we installed a life size bronze fishing sculpture of a northern Colorado developer, Allen Ginsborg. Although this sculpture is of a man holding a fish, it honors a man who built a reputation for building some of northern Colorado’s biggest developments. Some of his creations include Woodward Inc.’s campus, parts of Centerra in Loveland, Marketplace in Fort Collins and Village at the Peaks in Longmont. It now sits permanently within the fountains at Village at the Peaks.
Allen was an avid fly fisherman and cyclist who loved the outdoors. And as a well respected businessman Mr. Ginsborg was a frequent lecturer at Everitt Real Estate Center who mentored CSU students. With a great balance of family, faith, business and community, the community will miss him.
From Idea to Permanent Art
The monument took seven months to create. From December 2021 through March 2022, my assistant Michael and I worked on the clay original. After finishing the clay we created a mold off of the clay original. With the mold complete, we poured melted wax into the molds. From there, the wax castings were cooled, removed, then cleaned up in preparation for pouring bronze. Than the local bronze foundry carefully took the delicate waxes and prepared them for bronze casting using the lost wax casting method.
Over a period of two months foundry artisans worked hard on casting the waxes into bronze. For more information on this process please visit Art Castings website.
While the sculpture was being cast I began looking for a granite boulder to match the landscape. Once the metal castings arrived at my studio, my team assembled and chased the full size sculpture. Then later the bronze sculpture was patinated by a professional patineur. The granite boulder that he sits on weighs just under 1 ton. Because of its weight it was installed using a extended boom forklift.
In conclusion, the life size bronze fishing sculpture honors Mr. Ginsborg and his love for the outdoors. It is an homage to a man who loved to fish and helped shaped the Northern Colorado community.
Photos of Big Fish: Portrait of Allen Ginsborg
