Casting bronze sculptures is filthy, tricky, hot work, foundryman Jonathan Campbell says.
Usually, his kids stay well away from his workshop on the family's Wellington property, but while the 45-year-old was doing the Hairy Maclary sculptures, his son, Seaumus, and daughter Neeve would bring friends and classmates around to check on his progress.
"It was the first time my kids got really excited about what I do," says Jonathan.
"Normally, it's just dumb dad's stuff. But at the time, it was very relevant to them. I was cool for five minutes."
In fact, it took a lot longer than five minutes to bring the nine intricate bronze sculptures to life.
They weren't just pieces of sculpture. They were recognisable characters.
The process began with sculptor Brigitte Wuest, who was chosen for the project after a lengthy selection process and created plasticine designs in collaboration with author Lynley Dodd.
"We had Skype sessions all the time," says Brigitte.
"It was great to have her input. She was always very enthusiastic and excited to see them in 3D."
Brigitte's husband, Marco, then made his wife's designs into silicone rubber and fibreglass moulds, before they were turned over to Jonathan to cast in bronze using the ancient lost-wax technique.
For each sculpture, this involved making a wax reproduction using Marco's mould, then a ceramic mould around the wax. The wax was then burned out - hence the term "lost-wax" - and replaced with molten bronze.
Most sculptures were done in sections, the heaviest weighing in at just on 200kg.
Hairy Maclary author Dame Lynley Dodd with three of the sculptures in the Hairy Maclary installation at Creative Tauranga. Photo/George Novak
Jonathan, whose usual commissions tend to be for "the contemporary art world and dealer crowd", says the Tauranga sculptures will age gracefully and may not go as green as some bronzes. "They'll be patted and touched so much, it won't happen."
Once on the waterfront, the sculptures will be bolted to the ground and protected by 24-hour CCTV, but Jonathan says they are of little value to thieves anyway.
He says such people mistakenly think bronze is valuable when melted down, when in fact it is a relatively inexpensive metal, its riches lying in its ease to work with and the fact it does not rust.
Jonathan says Brigitte has done a masterful job of giving the Hairy Maclary sculptures personality - "She just about puts a heartbeat in some of them" - while Dame Lynley also describes her as "a very talented lady".
Before embarking on her career, Dame Lynley majored in sculpture at Auckland's Elam School of Fine Arts and says her training heightened her awareness of the effort and complexities of sculpture.
She says Brigitte successfully realised her two-dimensional illustrations as three-dimensional figures - a particularly challenging job because strong resemblances were required.
"They weren't just pieces of sculpture. They were recognisable characters."
Brigitte says her own favourite is Bitzer Maloney - "I just like his elegance" - while her husband says the project was a beautiful one in which to be involved.
