HOCKINSON RESIDENT Chad Caswell, pictured here, and his father Rip Caswell received the honor to work together on an upcoming national monument, a sculpture of U.S. Navy five-star Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in World War II. Photo courtesy of FH Browne.
THE WORKS OF Chad Caswell and his father, Rip Caswell, can be viewed at the Caswell Gallery in Troutdale, OR. Photo courtesy of FH Browne.
CHAD CASWELL, now 20, was 18 when his father offered him the job as assistant sculptor on several of his commissioned monument works. Photo courtesy of FH Browne.
Chad Caswell is surely following in his father’s footsteps.
The 20-year-old Hockinson resident is the son of renowned Washington and Oregon bronze sculptor, Rip Caswell and he had the recent honor to work with his Dad on an upcoming national monument.
Chad worked closely with his father to add detail and refinements to a life-and-one-quarter size sculpture of U.S. Navy five-star Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in World War II. The sculpture was created as a national monument to the admiral.
The younger Caswell was commissioned earlier this year by the Naval Order of the United States to create the national monument. The Caswells reside in Hockinson and Chad is a Clark College student majoring in business. He will transfer to WSU Vancouver next year.
“I want to learn the business side of my dad’s profession so when I open my own studio I’ll be able to handle the business side as well as the artistic aspects,’’ Chad said.
The work he did on the monument includes the emblem and “scrambled eggs” on the Admiral’s hat, his submarine belt and intricate buckle, the stitches in his hat, pants, shirt and shoes, the laces of the shoes, and the four stars and wood-simulated base of the statue.
The eight-foot sculpture will be unveiled at Pearl Harbor on Sept. 2, 2013, coinciding with the anniversary of the allied victory in the Pacific (VJ Day) in 1945.
“I can’t believe my name will be on a national monument that will be seen by half a million visitors per year,” Chad said smiling. “And, my whole family will be there when it is unveiled. That’s going to be fantastic.”
“Chad has been working closely with me the past two years,” says Rip, his father. “He began playing with clay and showed interest at a young age. At 7 years of age, he was creating small dinosaurs and a few frog figures, at 10 he began selling some of his artwork to friends, and by 11, they were sold at one of my shows. Since then, he’s continued to refine his skills and has developed into quite a talented artist in his own right. I’m very proud of him.”
Chad was 18 when his father offered him the job as assistant sculptor on several of his commissioned monument works. Chad has since worked side-by-side with his father on multiple projects, including: The seven life-sized geese erupting in flight from the entryway monument to the City of Tualatin; the seven-foot tall sculptures of Mary and Joseph and of the Crucifixion commissioned for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita, KS; and most recently, the national monument to Admiral Nimitz.
“I’m thrilled to say that I had a small part of almost every sculpture that has been created here for the past two years, mainly detail work, but still a small part of me is in everything my dad has done in that time,” Chad said.
Additionally, the young artist has been studying production at his father’s fine art foundry, learning, hands-on, the ancient lost wax process of casting, and will not only be taking his father’s portrait sculpture class in late May, but Chad is also being sent to New York for another portrait sculpture class in the fall. This quarter he’s balancing classes at Clark with his job at his father’s art gallery and studio in Troutdale, OR.
A special honor for the 20-year old was when his signature was carved into the base of the monument.
“That was very, very special to me,” Chad said. “Being a part of something my father created, having a small role myself in this historic statue, is an honor.”
When not working with his father, Chad works on a joyful series inspired by his youth creating a whimsical line of frogs, toads, turtles and salamanders. These colorful creations cast in bronze and available in resin are sure to bring a smile to those who collect them. Chad’s passion and future burns bright, and there are probably lots of folks who will consider an early opportunity to own one of Chad’s creations.
Already showing signs of a great entrepreneurial future, Chad revealed that he’s in the process of casting one of his favorite sculptures, a large toad, into chocolate, which he wants to sell at the gallery and any local stores that are interested in carrying a very unique piece of edible art.
“I’d love it if someone in Battle Ground and Vancouver sold them,” he said. “They’re going to be fun and I’m testing them out with test versions as gifts for my mom and grandmother for Mother’s Day.
Chad and Rip’s work can be viewed, at the Caswell Gallery in Troutdale, OR, where Chad can be found sculpting at various times throughout the week and during First Friday Art Walks. The gallery is located at 201 W Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR 97060 and can be reached by phone at (503) 492-2473.
The gallery website – http://www.caswellsculptures.com/ – contains dozens of images of the Caswell’s works, as well as watercolor, pastel, oil and acrylic paintings, photography, blown glass, fine and “whimsy” jewelry, created by artists represented by the gallery. Chad’s work can also be viewed at www.chadcaswell.com.
