GARFIELD — In the middle of the woods, where only the distant whistle of the train and the rhythmic tapping of the woodpecker can be heard, a man made his living doing what he loves — until Dec. 15.
Raymond Gibby, who lives in Pea Ridge, received a call that day his shop in Garfield was on fire. He arrived five minutes later to find 12-foot flames escaping from one end of the metal building.
Gibby kicked the remains of the foundry with his foot during a visit this week. The debris on the ground represent at least a month’s work.
“You can imagine why I would go into a fire to save these things,” Gibby said.
“I saw a huge plume of smoke (when) I was by the fire station in Garfield,” he said. “When I got here, there was smoke coming out both sides.”
Gibby and his family — wife Aimee and five children, ages 10, 7, 5, 3 and 6 months — moved to Arkansas four years ago from Springville, Utah. He works full time as an artist.
Gibby was working in screenprinting when he happened across an ad for a foundry worker. He showed his sketches during an interview and was hired immediately.
“I had never worked with metal before, it was kind of an on-the-job training thing. After three or four months, I was having the best time and getting paid more (than before),” he said.
He began working on his own sculptures on the side, running them through the foundry on his own time.
“Most sculptors don’t do their own foundry work,” he said. “I had a full portfolio when I left there.”
Now, Gibby has his sculptures in galleries across the country, including Santa Fe, N.M., Park City, Utah, and Jackson Hole, Wyo. He work can also be seen in the Irvine, Texas, Municipal Building and at the Joe Gibbs Racing Museum in Huntersville, N.C. His current project is the Burlsworth Trophy for the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation.
Gibby discovered after moving to Arkansas there was no facility where he could cast his sculptures. He built a structure on land owned by his parents, Raymond and Barbara Gibby, three and a half years ago. He began foundry work once again, doing castings for other artists in the area as well.
One reason he rushed into the fire was to save their work.
“The reason I made (the building) metal was because I thought it would be flame retardant,” he said. “I found out it needed insulation because it was freezing.”
Gibby used a spray on insulation inside the building.
“It said it was flame retardant with the proper thermal barrier. What does that mean, a concrete wall?” he asked.
The fire started around a woodburning stove.
Gibby said the only thing left standing was a bronze moose, a “regal looking moose” Aimee Gibby calls it. The moose alone represented nearly four months of work.
Bronze sculptures can be made again and again once a mold is made — Gibby’s molds were destroyed.
“Insurance can’t re-sculpt my sculptures for me,” Gibby said, although the building and equipment were insured.
The Gibbys’ misfortune hasn’t been all about loss. They have experienced a great deal of support from those they know, including people from the family’s church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rogers.
“On the first day, we had food at our door, people wanting to watch our kids and anonymous checks,” Gibby said.
Gibby will rebuild.
“What else can I do? I always did this without a backup plan.” Gibby said. “I live by one miracle to the next, and that’s literal. I go till the end of my money, then get another big job.”
Gibby said that although it is hard for him to get up in the morning he does.
“How do I know this isn’t the best thing that’s ever happened to me?” Gibby said.
web watch
Raymond Gibby’s Web Site
www.nobilitybronze.com