Concrete Park Honors Dedicated Artist

Concrete Park Honors Dedicated Artist AG WORLD Fred Smith retired as a lumberjack at 62 years old but in many ways his life’s work was only beginning He spent the following few decades constructing distinctive larger-than-life statues that came to be known as the Wisconsin Concrete Park Smith preferred to work with concrete and had a quick intuitive artistic style He was entirely self-taught and learned through constant experimentation At one time his Concrete Park contained 99 distinct animal sculptures The creation process began with a poured concrete footing about 1 ft deep Smith would then form each figure from a couple of strips of lumber wrapped with barbed wire Once the “skeleton” took shape he would fill the form with cement Smith made half of each sculpture as it laid down then he’d raise it on the footing and complete the remainder as it stood upright He’d make the arms hands and heads separately before erecting them to the form Smith accessorized each piece with odds and ends His early works featured paint and low-relief glass embellishments His later pieces included whole glass bottles auto-reflectors mirrors and more Friends and neighbors proved invaluable for helping him erect his heavy pieces and tracking down hard-to-find accessories like horse harnesses and carriages Many statues include plaques with narration from Smith that explain their meaning and inspiration One piece Mable the Milker shows a woman milking a cow by hand Smith explains that Mable has tried all manner of power milk machines but in the end has decided to stick with the cheapest option—her hands Smith had extreme arthritis over the 15 years he created his sculptures but it didn’t deter him from forever brainstorming new ideas His final project proved his most ambitious—a Budweiser Clydesdale team complete with eight draft horses and two ponies that took him over 6 mos to complete Soon after Smith finished the horse team he suffered a stroke that put him in a rest home Though he lived another eleven years he never managed to return to creating the sculptures he loved Today the Wisconsin Concrete Park is open to visitors year-round during daylight hours Guided tours can be arranged in advance by contacting the park A $50 donation is suggested Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Wisconsin Concrete Park N8236 State Hwy 13 Phillips Wis 54555 ph 715-339-7282; fofs@pctcnet net; www wisconsinconcretepark org

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