Korry R. Bird began making strides toward an artistic career as a youth. While still in junior high school, he began sketching the wildlife near his home in Springville, Utah. It was at this early age he made the decision to pursue his artistic expression.
Korry Bird is now a sculptor and a foundry owner. How he got to this point at the age of 36 is a story of a curious and ambitious boy with an artistic bent.
While in high school Bird did illustration work for the Utah Fish and Game. He also participated in a work release program offered by his school and spent every afternoon at Brigham Young University doing illustration work for Dr. Vernon J. Tipton in the Entomology lab.
During his junior and senior years in high school, Bird again participated in the work release program being offered and spent this time in the employ of the noted sculptor of western themes Stan Q. Johnson. Mr. Johnson owned and operated one of the first art casting facilities in Utah.
While working with Mr. Johnson, Bird learned the intricacies of the lost wax casting process. In addition to helping the sculptor build a studio and foundry, Bird took advantage of the two years he spent with Johnson and culled every bit of information, experience and criticism he could muster from the well-known sculptor.
After two years with Mr. Johnson, Bird was ready to move on. He spent the next two years in North Carolina as a missionary for the Mormon Church. Upon his return in 1982 he immediately began sculpting. This artistic adventure led him to the studio and foundry of Edward J. Fraughton. Not many young artists have the opportunity to have such renown mentors. Bird considers himself lucky.
For the next three years, Bird frequently visited the studio of Mr. Fraughton. Here he was exposed to principle and practice that still permeates Bird's direction and attitude. Eventually Bird was employed by Fraughton to assist with the casting of the monumental sculpture Spirit of Wyoming, a 14 foot bucking bronco for the capitol grounds in Cheyenne. Bird remembers those days with a smile. "I look back on that time in my life with great fondness. The kindness that Ed showed to me will always be a bright spot in my life. He has been the single greatest influence on my attitude toward this profession. He helped to instill the realization that one must become a true student of sculpture. His gentle way of letting me know that I must continue to improve will always be appreciated."
Korry Bird knew art was his life now. He studied sculpture at the University of Utah. Soon he was heading to California where he worked in the foundry industry to learn more of the "necessary evil" and began sculpting his own wildlife and figurative work. He was hooked!
--excerpted from Artist of the West
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