Wayne Hyde Sculpts Wildlife
On Family Farm
LINDA WILLIAMS
Bedford Co. Correspondent
MANNS CHOICE (Bedford
Co.) The bronze sculptured
wildlife created by Wayne Hyde
brings to mind many adjectives ...
magnificent, beautiful, awe inspir
ing, being only a few.
Growing up on a dairy farm,
Wayne loved art from the time he
could hold a pencil
“1 suspect I get my talent from
my dad,” says this 37-year-old
with the easy going manner.
“When I was little, I was trying to
draw the birds on the windowsill
and I can still remember him tak
ing my hand and guiding the pen
cil around the paper.”
By the fourth grade, Wayne was
doing art projects, such as stencil
drawings, for the Chestnut Ridge
School District
“And, I always knew I liked
three dimensioned art the best,” he
says now.
After high school he graduated
from the Pittsburgh School of Art
in advertising art. “I knew that
wasn’t what I wanted to do,” he
remembers. “But, I finished the
course anyway.”
It was his wife who first wanted
to move to New Mexico. Explor
ing the exquisite shops in Santa
Fe, and studying the sculptures
there, Wayne knew he had found
his art form.
Each try with the clay brought
him better results. Wayne found a
job firefighting with the Bureau of
Land Protection in New Mexico
and worked on his sculptures in
the off-seasons. “Often I sculpture
what I had seen in the wild,” he
says.
Other ideas came from nature
photographs. When he landed a
job with “Wildlife Habitat
Improvement,” ideas ran rampant
A divorce brought Wayne back
to Bedford County and the family
farm where he now fills the old
farm house with various stages of
his work.
“I really missed the farm,”
Wayne says, admitting that he
doesn’t really miss the dairy cows
which have been sold.
However he and his dad con
tinue to farm 275 acres raising
various crops as well as black
Angus and Hereford beef cattle.
When the farm work is finished.
Wayne is ready to sculpture and
sometimes works into the wee
hours of the morning. His work
begins with a big hunk of clay.
Using high school welding skills,
he builds a steel armature which
holds the clay together as he
works. He watches wildlife vid
eos, often freezing a frame to cap
ture an animal’s pose or
expression.
Once the scultpure meets with
his satisfaction (usually three or
four months later), Wayne care
fully packs his clay sculptures into
boxes and straps them into the car
with the seat belts. Then, it’s off to
the foundry in Dublin, Texas.
“I could never trust these to be
shipped,” Wayne explains. “I have
even built a box which is hooked
up the air conditioner in my car to
keep the clay from melting.”
“There are only a few foundries
in the United States and this one is
especially good,” Wayne
explains. Bronze which is 85%
copper and 15% tin is heated to
2,300 degrees before being poured
into the molds.
Once the mold is made, artisans
at the foundry, as well as Wayne
put the finishing touches on his
Wayne adds the finishing touches to one of his sculp
tures while at the foundry In Texas.
wildlife creations.
No more than 20 to 30 sculp
tures of any one mold is made
before being destroyed. By doing
this, he is able to offer limited edi
tions with prices of his work rang
ing from $750 to $3,500.
Work is sold in specialty art
shops in Santa Fe, Jackson’s Hole,
Wyoming, and in a few cities in
Texas.
“Marketing is my main prob
lem,” Wayne admits. “I know my
work is good but I would much
rather create sculptures than mark
et However, one complements the
ij
Each sculpture Wayne forms is a limited edition of his
work.
other and I’m working on my
weaker points.”
Wayne did a show at the Holi
day Inn in Jackson’s Hole last
summer and will be a part of a
wildlife show in the Poconos
within the next few weeks.
And, when he has a tew
minutes, his favorite past time is
gazing over the hills of Bedford
County as the Hyde farm offers a
magnificent view of the surround
ing farmlands.
Hyde can be contacted at RD 1,
Manns Choice, 15550 or by call
ing (814) 733-2894.
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