“For Those Who Dare to Dream” is a 15-foot tall sculpture that will be installed in front of the library at the Laramie County Community College (LCCC) in Cheyenne, Wyoming this October. Commissioned by alumni Randy and Yvonne Ludden, this sculpture will be made of bronze and stainless steel, and features two children climbing the ‘Ladder of Success’ and reaching for the stars.
The Vision
Randy and Yvonne Ludden were looking to find a way to give back to the college that has been a big part of their lives growing up. They dreamed that someday their patronage of the college might perhaps allow them a shelf named in their honor at the LCCC library. In the end, they decided that they would support the expansion of the new library on campus and, as part of that new expansion, they hoped to also include a large, outdoor sculpture that would represent how they felt about education and LCCC, celebrating knowledge as the foundation of success.
This desire led them to find Adam Schultz and Lorri Acott of Dream Big Sculpture, who they called to ask about commissioning the sculpture. All four of them met several times both in private, and on campus with representatives of the college so that Adam and Lorri could learn a little bit of Randy and Yvonne’s personal story, as well as the history of LCCC.
Their Story
Randy Ludden’s relationship with the college began before it was built, when he was the senior class president in high school. He went door-to-door asking people to vote for a tax increase so that Laramie County Community College (LCCC) could be built. After high school, Randy joined the military.
Randy met his wife, Yvonne, at LCCC and they fell in love, making their story more intricately intertwined with the college. She went on to become a teacher and he became a businessman, both making successful lives for themselves while continuing to stay connected to LCCC.
The Commission
After meeting with everyone and walking through the proposed installation site, they came up with a general concept for a sculpture. Adam then created several sketches of different ideas. When they met again, the Luddens chose their favorite of the designs, and had Adam make a small scale clay model of the sculpture, called a maquette, for everyone to see. After viewing the maquette, they were thrilled with the result! Feeling happy that the concept really captured their vision, they excitedly began to move forward with this project in earnest.
The maquette was then enlarged at Dream Big Sculpture Studios in Loveland, CO. Several months were spent building the 15-foot version of the sculpture out of foam and clay before meeting with the Luddens once again for a final approval. The sculpture of the children reaching for the stars features a boy standing on top of a ladder reaching up as if he was taking a book from the top shelf at the library. As the boy is bringing the book down, some of the stars in the completed sculpture will be created with colored plexiglass, and will appear as if they are spilling from the book, illustrating the idea that through knowledge all of your dreams can come true. The books sculpted at the bottom of the ladder represent the idea that knowledge is foundational for Those Who Dare to Dream, the title of the sculpture.
Making the Bronze
The steps it takes to make a cast bronze monument from the clay original is called the lost wax process. The first step in this process involves making molds of the clay. This sculpture is so large that 29 different molds were required to be made for it. At this time, all those molds have been delivered to the foundry and are waiting to be cast in bronze. This casting process can take anywhere from three to six months depending on the foundry’s schedule. Once all of the pieces are cast, they will be welded together so that the metal can be finished to create the final sculpture. So far, we are on schedule to for installation in October
Watch for more updates here!