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Storybook Hill Wishing Well Project |
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By Jim Ehlinger and Gary Olsen Above, Jim Ehlinger works on the beanstalk around which the well portion of this project will be built. For more photos click here. The wishing well drawing at right is constructed of powder-coated steel, stone, and copper. The work is a collaboration between metal sculptor, Jim Ehlinger, and myself. I've been wanting to work with Jim again ever since our days as employees at the John Deere Dubuque Works. He was one of the most talented welders and metal workers I have ever met, and he has a thriving career now as a sculptor. Many of his pieces are in collections across the country. When I was working on the Storybook Hill Portal Project, it came to my attention that the popular park has a wishing well that generated a fair amount of money that helped defray park operations, feed the animals, what have you. I wondered to my friend Bill Burdt, who serves on that board, "What if we put a really spectacular wishing well in the park, capturing the storybook theme, but making it even more exciting?" Several drawings on napkins later, we had a project that we could pitch to the board. Wishing wells are an important feature in a children's park, and we wanted to make this one special.
The entire wishing well sculpture is approximately 7 to 10 feet feet high, and a child must be lifted up to insert a coin in the funnel at the near top of the vine. The vine is constructed entirely of copper, and the coin will rattle down the interior of the vine to a lock box below. A novel set of instructions will demonstrate to children on how to make a wish in the Jack and the Beanstalk well. Step 1. Find a Giant. A parent or accompanying adult of sufficient height will do nicely. Step 2. Ask the giant to lift you on his or her shoulders to insert your coin in the funnel at the top of the vine. Step 3. Make a wish and drop your coin in the funnel. We are presently examining the idea of having a recording of a deep booming voice that speaks upon insertion of the coin: "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum... Thank you for your wish little one! And our animals thank you, too (cue animal noises)! This first draft of the well is for preliminary fabrication and test purposes. We plan on adding characters from the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, such as the singing harp, the hen that lays golden eggs, and a treasure chest of some sort with gold coins coming out of it... all pieces cascading down the beanstalk. Below are the pattern files for the work. Click on them and you can download the file.
I'm designing the well, and Jim Ehlinger is working on the vine that will appear like it's exploding out of the well and through the roof, shingles akimbo. You notice that I don't care much for symmetry in my designs. I try to avoid straight lines or flat surfaces. Is it any wonder one of my favorite film directors is Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice in Wondersland)?
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The wishing well masonry will consist of a pre-cast concrete pipe cut to specifications (yet to be determined), then covered with a facing stone identical to the pillars designed for the entrance to the park. However, to create the rounded barrel effect, we are going to have to be creative. It's not a simple matter just offsetting the stones as your laying them. We will have to come up with a strategy to give the base shape. This is an important design point because curved surfaces are far more interesting than straight ones especially when you are trying to create a fanciful piece evocative of a storybook world we all have in our heads from early European folk tales we probably heard from our grandparents.
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This project has now become possible with a grant from the Dubuque Racing Association, and we are forever grateful to the men and women of our community that serve that organization that benefits so many worthwhile projects in the Tri-state Area. I personally have applied for funds from the DRA to finance two previous projects both of which won grants, so I have a track record of delivering on my promises. The first stone and brick welcome sign for the south entrance to Dubuque was financed by the DRA. There have since been two more erected by the city patterned after our first sign. 
Here's the bending jig that Jim came up with for bending the copper tubing. It looks like it's going well. 
Even though the wishing well looks organic, it's made of masonry and powder-coated steel to minimize maintenance costs. We are still contemplating what surface treatment we want to have for the copper vine. We could, perhaps, let nature take its course and allow the copper to turn blue-green, almost turquoise in appearance, however, that's not always a certainty. We are evaluating different coating methods that will weather well and maintain a consistent color. 
Finally, how does one bend copper pipe into complex curves without collapsing the pipe? Well a single simple curve can be accomplished with a bending jig, but Jim and I came up with what we hope is a solution. Weld caps on both ends of the pipe, and then, through a small port, fill the pipe with water. You can compress air but you can't compress water. Theoretically, bending the pipe without kinks or collapses should work. We don't know for sure. If it works, then some pretty dramatic curves could be incorporated into the design while maintaining the pipe's natural circumference. Kinks and narrow passages will cause coins and debris to hang up in their travel downward.
Storybook Hill Children's Zoo Portal Project
This project was originally commissioned by Bill Burdt, husband of the late Teri Burdt, a fellow artist and friend with whom I worked on a project some years ago. She passed away last year from cancer, and she left a legacy of hand-painted original ceramic replicas of Dubuque landmarks that I had collected over the years and consider them to be among my most prized possessions. Teri was also a lover of animals, and she served on the board of the Dubuque Storybook Hill Children's Zoo. In memory of Teri's work in the community, Bill wanted to design a new front entrance to the zoo, and he knew I had done some sign design work for the city. I jumped at the opportunity to help memorialize this wonderful artist and involved citizen. Teri's portrait will be laser-engraved on a black granite cameo on one of the portal's stone columns.
Object Files for Laser Cutter Link
A trip to the zoo with one's parent's is one of the most memorable experiences of my (or anyone's) youth. I'll never forget going to Brookfield Zoo near Chicago, and the great stone and brick gate that marked the entrance. I knew that I was entering an exciting new world when I walked through that gate. So when I got the chance to design a new entry sign for Storybook Hill Children's Zoo in Dubuque, I dug deep into my memory of those days I spent at Brookfield Zoo.
But I didn't want to build the same kind of structure that marked the entrance to the zoo of my youth. I wanted to do something spectacular yet affordable for my client. I knew I wanted to use some kind of stone as a base, but I had been working with powder coated steel on previous sign projects, and the technology employed to fabricate structures from steel has become so much more exciting. Thee are plasma cutters available that can cut steel into any kind of complex shape. The powder coating creates a practically maintenance free sign when properly applied. And more colors are available than ever before. The structural integrity of steel allows for a durable, safe and now colorful design.
You'll notice upon closer inspection that the animals in the zoo and depicted on the sign are agricultural animas. That's because Storybook Hill is actually a livestock farm that allows kids to get up close and personal to these creatures. Also I depicted the animals in family groups. The horse has a colt running along side, the sheep a lamb, the cow a calf, the pig some piglets, the nanny goat a baby goat, etc. I wanted to maintain a subtle narrative of parenthood among the animals that reflects the guests who are almost always young children accompanied by their parents. It's kind of circle of life thing with apologies to Disney's The Lion King.
Bill Burdt, who commissioned the project, is a joy to work with. We raised the money and materials for the sign in two weeks upon submission of the design! It flew through approvals. We are building the sign entirely locally. The project has received all kinds of in-kind donations of materials and labor for which we are grateful.
The sign's construction was completed on time and on budget, June 2010. Below are the artist's conception graphics.
Drawing below linked to a more highly resolved image.
