Blue
During the Gresham Arts Festival in 2017, "Blue" the heron was installed. A blue heron was chosen for this project because of how prolific the bird is to the region.
She was brought to the community by the Gresham Outdoor Public Art (GOPA) Board, a nonprofit organization. For Greene the decision was an easy one. This was the first city she called home when she moved to the state, and her love for Gresham hasn't faded.
"Heather is a one-of-a-kind, very special person," said Judy Han, president of GOPA. "We are lucky to have her work in our community."
Greene uses the lost-wax casting method, which is the same style that the Renaissance greats like Michelangelo used — with the added benefit of new technology to make the process smoother. The technique allows for intricate details to be included in the piece, as a duplicate metal sculpture is cast from an original.
She sculpts everything by hand, and tends to begin with the head and face of her sculpture. That allows her to shape the rest of the piece around it, guided by the personality and character she first envisioned.
“'When we pulled the tarp off the sculpture I remember seeing how surprised [Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis'] face was,' Han said. 'It is a special piece for the community.'”
Read the original article by Christopher Keizur at:
http://www.pamplinmedia.com/go/42-news/369200-251337-bronze-by-design-in-downtown-gresham
Artist: Heather Greene
Heather Greene was curious from early on and had a fascination with her father working in a bronze foundry. At a year old her father gave her some soft wax and hours later she had created a sculpture of 5 variations of the female form. By age 2 she sculpted over 100 pieces which her father cast in bronze. At the age of 3 she sold 30 pieces at her first art show and was hired to sculpt her first commission.
Heather gained national and worldwide attention as a young sculpting prodigy when her story was featured by Paul Harvey, People magazine, National Geographic world, and “That's Incredible”. Heather Moved to Portland to work in a bronze foundry as a welder. In 2009 she bought the foundry she worked at and moved it to the heart of the Columbia River Gorge.
Heather and her husband Richard Greene work together in their studio creating monuments and timeless bronze statues of collectors and institutions worldwide. She is currently sculpting the world's largest bronze Bald Eagle. It is sculpted entirely by hand without the use of enlargement technology that is so popular with artists right now.
Heather Greene's sculpture of “Sacawagea, Pompi and Seaman” was commissioned by the Port of Cascade Locks and has gained regional and worldwide attention.