Adna artist Jim Stafford notes details on images of George and Mary Jane Washington that were used in his creation of the form for a statue that will eventually be erected in George Washington Park in Centralia. The statue will include the founders of Centralia as well as their dog.
Pictured is the George and Mary Jane Washington statue form at artist Jim Stafford’s Adna studio.
A planned bronze statue of Centraila’s founding couple, George and Mary Jane Washington, is set to move one step closer to reality next week when its recently completed form is shipped off to be completed at a foundry.
“The clay piece is finished so we just need to transport it to Tacoma to the foundry,” said Adna artist Jim Stafford, who has been working on the statue project since August. “We hope to take it up, if all goes well, next Thursday.”
The clay form that Stafford has created is a life-size depiction of both George and Mary Jane Washington, as well as their family dog. In order to facilitate the casting process the clay form will need to be cut into smaller, more manageable pieces at the foundry and then reassembled once the bronze has been poured and solidified.
First though, the clay pieces will be used to make rubber molds. Those molds will then be used to create wax forms of the statue sections. The wax pieces will then be cast within a hard ceramic shell similar to plaster in order to recreate the shapes. Finally, using the “lost-wax” process, hot bronze will be poured into the ceramic molds, displacing the wax and creating the permanent form. Those individual pieces will then be reassembled, welded together and grinded down in order to hide the seams.
“It’s a very ancient process, where in antiquity they may have used clay to put around beeswax objects,” said Stafford, who put the finishing touches on the statue form back in December. He says he won’t see his creation again until it’s been cast into its final form, so long as everything goes to plan.
“That’s the idea. They’ll do the whole thing including the color process,” said Stafford.
The statue of Centralia’s founders is scheduled to be unveiled at Washington Park in front of the Centralia Timberland Library in August during the penultimate gathering of a year long celebration of Washington’s 200th birthday. That effort, including the statue project, has been orchestrated by the George Washington Bicentennial Committee.
Bob Russell, of Chehalis, is one local community member who was inspired to join the Bicentennial Committee’s effort to honor Centralia’s founders.
“One of the things I learned is just the power of a community effort,” said Russell, who estimates that nearly 200 people have helped out with the bicentennial celebration effort so far. “I showed up at this first meeting and just really thought wow this is a great group of people.”
One of the things that has come as a pleasant surprise to Russell is the sheer diversity of the people participating in the bicentennial effort.
“We’re like spokes of a wheel in the George Washington thing. There’s the artists. There’s my buddy who’s does all of our woodworking things. There’s an Eagle Scout doing the cemetery project ... We’re coming at it truly as a community from 360 degrees,” said Russell. “It’s very energizing to listen to that group.”
Russell has lived in the Twin Cities for the past 14 years and he says he was struck by the conservative nature of the community right from the get-go. However, through his work with the Bicentennial Committee, Russell says he has come to know a more diverse and compassionate side of the community.
“I thought the narrative of Centralia started in 1919 with the Wobblies and what I’ve found out is that it’s not. The narrative started when George Washington got here. We have an opportunity to change the whole narrative of what we’re trying to do and what we teach in our schools. It says we are a community that was started in 1872 by people that wanted to live together, and coincidentally, it just happened to be a black man,” explained Russell. “When I moved here 14 years ago, to find out that this town was founded by a former slave 200 years ago, I would have never believed it.”
Brian Mittge, who is a columnist for The Chronicle, has been instrumental in the Bicentennial Committee’s ongoing efforts to honor the man that the group has taken to calling “Our George Washington,” in order to avoid confusion of the first U.S. president with the same name. Mittge says that the volunteer efforts of people like Russell has been essential to the progress that has been made thus far.
“He joined our group last year to help clean up the Washington Lawn Cemetery and became active in the statue fundraising. He's a go-getter who has really helped our fundraising effort with an intensity to ‘get it done.’ He has a lot of respect for ‘Mr. Washington,’ as he calls him,” wrote Mittge in an email to The Chronicle. “He really led our fundraising effort over the past four or five months, along with Bonnie Canaday. I appreciate Bob a lot. He's been key to us getting to where we are with statue fundraising.”
Sure enough, fundraising was forefront on Russell's mind on Friday as plans were being finalized to send the statue form to the foundry.
“We’ve already done the heavy lifting. The artist is paid and this thing is going to get made whether people like it or not. What we need to focus on is getting this last $50,000 and planning this final party,” said Russell. He added specifically that the group needs to raise at least $6,000 by the end of January in order to keep the project on schedule for unveiling during the birthday bash in August.
Like Mittge, Stafford was keen to sing the praises of former Centralia Mayor Bonnie Canaday, as well as her husband, current Centralia Mayor Lee Coumbs.
“They’ve just been super. Their criticisms has always been positive,” said Stafford of the feedback that the couple has provided on the statue over the past several months.
“Often they’ll see something that I haven’t seen,” said Stafford. “Once you’re around something all the time, sometimes you’ll become blind to it.”
Stafford noted that the original idea for the statue called for George and Mary Jane Washington to be looking off toward downtown Centralia. However, following Canaday’s suggestion, Stafford altered the design so that George Washington is pointing to the distance while Mary Jane consults a plot map in her lap.
“I think it adds a little more action, or interest to it,” said Stafford. He added that one half of the bench that Mary Jane Washington will be seated on will be left open so that visitors may sit with the city’s founders.
“Bonnie wanted there to be room for people to sit there with her and take a picture, which I think was a great idea,” said Stafford.
Stafford added that the size and detail of the project has turned it into one of the largest undertaking he’s ever attempted.
“This one has taken longer than any of them. It’s been quite a bit more involved,” said Stafford, who worked off of historical photos in order to create accurate representations of the historical figures.
“Trying to capture the character or the look of these two people with not too much to go on was a real challenge, and I hope I’ve done reasonably well,” said Stafford, who opted to make both figures slightly younger than their typical depictions. “He looks much different when he’s older so I tried to find a middle chord there and most people say I’ve done a pretty good job.”
The total price tag of the statue is expected to come in at around $100,000. Additional information on the George Washington Bicentennial Committee, including a link to donate, can be found online at OurGeorgeWashington.com.
