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His boots are twice the size of a big man's foot.
And his form has become more perfect every day as David Oswald saws off pieces of foam to duplicate the La Crosse Players statue on Second Street.
Oswald was awarded the city contract to create a fiberglass replica of the statue to be placed atop the new welcome sign planned for Rose Street on La Crosse's North Side.
The welcome sign will have a stone base about 8 feet high and 26 feet wide, with internally lit letters saying, "La Crosse Welcomes You," said Jerry Schomberg, architect with Vantage Architects Inc. of La Crosse, who designed it. Behind it will be U.S., Wisconsin and La Crosse flags.
The cost, which City Engineer Randy Turtenwald said is about $170,000, is expected to be completed by early next year.
The Ho-Chunk Nation has thanked the city for using the statue in its welcome sign.
Cardboard patterns and pieces of foam litter the floor of Oswald's workroom, where he is putting in 12- to 16-hour days to replicate the three Native Americans in the statue originally created by sculptor Elmer Petersen.
Oswald, who owns DWO Fiberglass Co., has made all manner of fiberglass creatures, including cows, elephants, rabbits and a vintage car.
This is not the hardest job he's ever done. That was a huge walk-through fish now located in Haywood, he said. But Oswald said the La Crosse Players statue is challenging because of the intricacies, especially in the face.
"It's more time-consuming to follow someone else's work," he said, "because you have to follow it exactly."
It's also just plain big — about 13 feet to the top of the head and 15 feet when you include the outstretched arm. And that's not counting the lacrosse racket that will be in the hand. From the bottom of the prone player to the tip of the rackets will measure about 20 feet.
Oswald is making the replica about a foot higher than double the height of the original statues. "They will appear to be smaller," he explained, "because they're away from the highway and cars are going by quickly."
He has completed the two standing players, and hopes to complete the prone player by the end of today.
He begins with photos, which he enlarges on a projector, and then makes cardboard patterns for all the statue parts. But Oswald made about 50 trips to La Crosse to obtain exact measurements of the statue.
He first creates a model of tinfoil and foam, cutting with a reciprocating saw and a serrated knife and using plaster to fill it out. Much of the work is done on a stepladder.
If he makes a mistake, he sprays on more foam and begins cutting again. So far, he said his biggest mistake was not putting in enough bend at the statue's waist. To correct, he cut the statue at the waist and turned it.
From that he will make a fiberglass production mold, which will be the property of the city if it wants to make more statues in the future. Lastly, he makes the statue of fiberglass, with steel reinforcement inside and weather-protective coating on the outside.
Fiberglass statues last, Oswald said, reporting that statues he made in the 1960s still are standing, and look like new, with perhaps one new coat of paint.
When the trio is complete, Oswald said he will lay the statue down on a truck trailer to transport them down Interstate 90 to La Crosse. At the site, Schomberg said the statue will be set on top of the stone base with a crane.
Joan Kent can be reached at (608) 791-8221 or jkent@lacrossetribune.com.
