Submitted

A nearly 50-pound life-size bronze bust of Otto Wadewitz was unveiled Tuesday evening, May 31, at the Fairhope Yacht Club. The bust was sculpted by FYC Past Commodore Paul Ring. The unveiling took place during a FYC reception to thank those members who had donated to create the bust.

Creating the bust started one evening this past February when two old friends, Louis Zadnichek and Paul Ring, both of Fairhope, were sitting at the FYC bar enjoying conversation over drinks. During a lull, Louis suggested that Paul sculpt a bust of Founding Commodore Otto Wadewitz to honor his memory.

This scenario seemed all too familiar to Paul. Two years earlier, perhaps on the same bar stools, Louis had challenged Paul to build a model of Commodore Wadewitz's motor yacht, the REX. Paul, over the course of a year and a half, then built a beautiful scale model that’s now permanently displayed in the clubhouse as a tribute to Wadewitz’s role in the founding of Fairhope Yacht Club.

Now, Louis was again calling upon Paul with a similar request, but this time for a bronze bust of Wadewitz to replace the photograph of him displayed on the wall above the model’s display case.

This time, Paul protested more vigorously, “Louis, I’ve never sculpted a bust before!”

Louis replied, “But, aren’t you taking a clay sculpture class at the Eastern Shore Art Center?”

“Sure,” Paul explained, “but, it’s the first time I’ve attempted sculpture and, besides, we’re doing figure studies, not busts.”

But Louis persisted and finally Paul agreed to attempt a bust, with no promise of success.

Paul began his bust sculpting education with a book from the Fairhope Public Library that guided him through sculpting two practice busts, one of himself and the other of FYC Past Commodore Barbara Brown. These turned out okay, but with some flaws. However, the second bust was better than the first, indicating a climb up the learning curve.

Now, just as Paul was beginning his second figure sculpting class, it was time to attempt the Wadewitz bust. Paul explained to the instructor, Fran Neuman, that he would like to do the clay bust, rather than figure studies as the rest of the class were doing. Fran agreed, and along with conducting the rest of the class in figure sculpting, gave Paul the guidance and inspiration he needed.

When the bust was mostly finished, except for a few details, Paul asked long time FYC member Bob Bung to take a look at it. Bob is Commodore Wadewitz’s grandson and has a clear memory of his grandfather and good times aboard the REX.

When Bob declared Paul’s bust a good likeness of his grandfather, Paul felt the project might indeed succeed, for there was no one else qualified to challenge Bob’s judgement on how his uncle had appeared.

Under Fran Neuman’s continued tutelage, Paul completed the final details. Then, it was time to turn clay into bronze. Paul had learned from Fran that there was a foundry in Fairhope. This would greatly simplify the casting process by eliminating the difficulties of packing and shipping the fragile clay sculpture. Plus, it would make possible one-on-one dialog with the foundry operator.

Fairhope Foundry is owned and operated by Corey Swindle. During Paul’s first visit, Corey explained how the casting would be done using the “lost wax” process. First a rubber mold would be made by painting liguid rubber on the clay sculpture, which would capture all the detail of the original.

When the rubber cured, a rigid mold in removeable sections would surround the rubber mold. When cured, the rigid mold and the rubber mold would be removed from the clay sculture. A little damage to the clay sculpture is unavoidable when removing the rubber mold, but it is mostly intact.

Next, the rigid mold is lined with the rubber mold. Then, hot wax is poured into the rubber mold and swished around so as it cools a layer of wax is left inside the rubber mold. This is repeated until the wax coating is about 3/16 inch thick. When the wax has cooled, both the rigid mold and the rubber mold are removed revealing the wax as an exact copy of the clay sculpture.

Now a hard mold is formed over the wax sculture and a core is poured into its hollow inside. When the exterior mold and the core are both cured, the mold is placed in a special oven and the wax is melted out, hence the term, “lost wax.”

What is left is a mold that can withstand the heat of molten bronze. The molten bronze is poured into the mold through channels created when the mold was formed. When the bronze has cooled, the mold is broken away.

Any imperfections in the bronze are repaired and the sculpture is given a “patina.” The patina is a coloring given to the bronze through the application of chemicals. Different chemicals result in different colors.

Usually a coat of wax is applied to the patina for luster if the sculpture will be displayed indoors. This process turned the Wadewitz bust from clay to bronze, ready for display above the model of the REX in the FYC Clubhouse.