Sculpture

Mention sculpture to most people and they call to mind works crafted in marble or bronze, envisioning Michelangelo’s David or Rodin's Thinker.

To a Tournament of Roses devotee, sculpture evokes a different image. It’’s gigantic caricature created by welders in pencil steel, intended to be covered with a skin of aluminum wire screening and plastic, then decorated with a myriad of flowers and dry organic materials to become part of an awe-inspiring parade float.

Phoenix Decorating Co. has crews of talented artists which each year work their magic in this unusual art form.

It's amazing the things that the Phoenix craftsmen can sculpt and animate. Some are relatively easy: creating turning wheels, flapping wings, a subtly winking eye. Others take a very special eye –– possibly one with a slightly odd slant.

Consider depicting a 45-foot tall “Mother Nature” for Farmer’s Insurance or creating a pair of mythic-sized, fire-breathing dragons for American Honda’s “Once Upon a Time.”

Add to that the challenge of the sea –– as Trader Joe’s presents “Discovery of the Deep” featuring a whale, dolphins, swimming sea turtles, and undulating manta ray and several schools of fish – or the pleasures of the bay as depicted in the City of Long Beach’s “A Day at the Bay” with its 30-foot tall lighthouse and a small regatta of sail boats.

It’s hard to imagine the zoo that could boast a greater collection of animals than have been created by Phoenix Decorating Co. designers, sculptors and decorators for the 2007 Rose Parade. Starting with gigantic leaping frog, seeking “Clean Water” on the LifeSource Water float, the American bison helping the State of Oklahoma celebrate its 100th anniversary, the big fuzzy bear and raccoon out for a canoe ride courtesy of the City of Glendale.  There’s also a large family of squirrels inhabiting the National Notary Association float, along with a bevy of bees swarming around the Ronald McDonald House Foundation “Home Sweet Home” hive.  A flock of colorful avians nest among  birdhouses created as the City of Los Angeles engages in “Building a Future.”  Butterflies are aflutter as “accessories” to Mother Nature’s costume on the Farmers Insurance float, where they are joined by a fawn and wise old owl.  The City of Alhambra offers the big top lure in a big way with a life-sized elephant pulling a “steam” powered calliope.  And –  Optimist Club International appropriately demonstrates the parade theme of “Our Good Nature” with a snuggling bulldog and kitten, presented under the title “It’s Love.”

How does this all come about? The initial step is a relatively simple two-dimensional schematic drawing, generally no larger than a common newspaper. Then there are some crude chalk lines drawn on a concrete floor, after which the pencil steel is artfully bent to the shapes needed to create a basic outline, which is mounted on a temporary framework allowing the sculptors 360-degree access to their work. Then, thousands of pieces of pencil steel are carefully cut, bent and welded together to form the intricate fabric of each sculptural piece. When the form has been shaped to perfection, it's mounted on a float and covered with screening and a plastic skin. This skin is painted to match the color of the decorations which will be affixed in the days before the parade by thousands of volunteers, providing a beautiful float –– but unfortunately hiding a truly unique sculptural art form.