Wilmington’s future old-time welcome to be installed in May

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WILMINGTON — Come late May when a public art project celebrating agriculture is completed, the five bronze 12-feet tall corn stalks that stand on a brick base — itself three feet high — will no doubt catch the eyes of passerby motorists.

The public artwork is designed to be a tribute to the agricultural legacy of the Wilmington area, said local sculptor Isaac Dell.

“This was evident when I first began talking to the Henry Family in the summer of 2020, as they described their goals and intentions for the artwork. There have been five generations in the Henry Family who have cultivated their agricultural roots and are proud to be a part of the longstanding history of this agrarian society,” Dell said.

“The main feature of five oversized bronze cornstalks will stand side-by-side just as this community of past, present, and future generations,” he added.

This notion of being side-by-side is also found in the relief sculpture where viewers will see a farming couple with hands clasped as they stand, filled with resolution and grit, on their land.

“With the figures being surrounded by animals, an old oak tree, barn swallows, and the setting sun, I wanted this piece to capture the atmosphere of a farm and the celebration of the long legacy of this community,” said Dell.

The artistic tribute to farming and farmers will be embedded at Point Park — the green space located at the busy confluence of East Main and East Locust Streets and alongside the railroad tracks.

To see the bronze relief sculpture of the married couple on the farm, the viewer will need to walk up to it. The relief scultpure will be mounted on a stone pedestal that sits low to the ground to the east of the cornstalks. It will be on a chamfer-edged stone that stands 24 inches tall.

The project is expected to be complete on Tuesday, May 25.

The artwork is being paid for by donors — the Bruce and Dorothy Henry Family and the Clinton County Foundation.

Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.

This photo is of a clay relief sculpture that will be cast into bronze and then become a part of a public work of art in Wilmington, paying tribute to the local legacy of agriculture.
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2021/04/web1_relief_sculpture_p.jpgThis photo is of a clay relief sculpture that will be cast into bronze and then become a part of a public work of art in Wilmington, paying tribute to the local legacy of agriculture. Submitted photo

By Gary Huffenberger

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