In 2001, Redding had just finished building a new city hall. A visionary city manager, Mike Warren, who now is the CEO of Turtle Bay Exploration Park, located by the Sundial Bridge in Redding, further suggested an outdoor art gallery on the property to showcase the richness of the region through art. The Sculpture Park at City Hall features native plants, trees, and wood and metal sculptures. One is Steel Birds in Flight. Another is Fly Fish, created by David Mudgett. It consists of a large metal rod, a heavy-duty chain serving as the “line,” and a likewise heavy-duty towing hook serving as the “hook.” To advance this concept, Leah Haws, a Redding resident and art consultant, offered to seek funding for another prominent sculpture to highlight the world-class fly fishing available in the nearby Sacramento River. The result was the creation and installation of Ercel Johnson’s Catch and Release on the Sacramento River.
Serendipitously, at the Redding Municipal Airport, Haws happened to meet Randy Johnson, whose brother, Ercel, made large sculptures as part of a family enterprise in Montana. Johnson also mentioned a creative way to fund the project: make small, limited-edition replicas that patrons would buy and thus fund the large sculpture. When Hawes presented a proposal to Kim Niemer, Redding’s community services director, she readily gave it the green light, and Redding’s city council approved the project, especially given the outside funding.
Back in Montana, Ercel Johnson, whose artistic specialties reflected his outdoor interests in horses, fishing, and hiking, began work on the sculpture — “an arduous, challenging undertaking,” as he put it. First, an armature or skeleton was made to hold up to 500 pounds of moldable clay that was sculpted into the subject. This clay sculpture was covered in silicone rubber, which retains the finest of details, and then encased in plaster. The plaster and rubber were cut from the clay, creating molds that held a negative impression. Wax was poured into a reconstituted single mold, and when cooled, extracted from it, now being a positive impression. This was covered with ceramic and placed into a kiln at 1,500 degrees. The wax melted out of the ceramic mold, which again produced a negative impression. Bronze then was melted and poured into the ceramic mold. After it cooled, the ceramic was chipped away, revealing the bronze sculpture within.
The full sculpture, which was completed in 2006, involved 75 separate castings of individual parts that were welded together. After sand blasting, the bronze was at first a shiny gold, which was altered by chemical and natural oxidization to produce the patina that one sees today.
Ercel Johnson transported the bronze monument, which is approximately 11 feet by 8 feet and weighs approximately fifteen hundred pounds, from Montana to California on a trailer. And for the miniatures created to fund the Redding sculpture, he created replicas in two sizes — 24 inches and 32 inches. Leah Haws then recruited local supporters to buy the replicas at $2,500 and $5,000, respectively. Many Redding businesses and individuals generously responded. Their names are included on a plaque near the sculpture.
In contributing to Redding’s Sculpture Park at City Hall, Ercel Johnson stated: “The beautiful Sacramento River is one of the finest fly-fishing rivers in the United States. Catch and Release on the Sacramento River is a tribute to the timeless activity of fishing. It is my hope that this sculpture is attractive to the eye and also inspires those of us who love the out-of-doors.”
— Bob Madgic
