WAUPUN — Jeni Maly unveiled the next set of sculptures being brought to Waupun through the Sculpture Tour program at City Hall Tuesday night.
Maly attended both the Board of Public Works Meeting and the Common Council meetings of May 13, 2025 to discuss the sculptures, and where they will be placed for the year—or permanently.
“Create Waupun has been very successful in obtaining sculptures for Waupun, and we are very excited for two sculptures to be permanently placed in Waupun for the 2025 Sculpture Tour,” Maly said.
“Our first sculpture called ‘Eddies & Etching’ was made by James and Ryan Peterson, who are sculpture artists that take inspiration from riverways,” Maly said. “They have constructed a customized sculpture of the Rock River, which was obtained through the protect Wisconsin Waterway Grant.”
This piece will be a permanent addition to Waupun’s collection, and placed at Harris Mill Park near the Mill Pond. Maly presented three potential locations for the placement to the Board of Public Works, where they agreed to place it where a stone table is currently set near the shelter.
The other two potential locations were near the flower garden at the end of the bridge over the dam, and at the intersection of the footpaths near the gazebo.
Jaedon Buchholz spoke at the Board meeting about the third location, expressing his idea to eventually purchase a full bronze sculpture of Clarence Addison Shaler to place at that location so as to be able to see both the Recording Angel and the End of the Trail. Mayor Rohn Bishop expressed agreement with this idea, and Jeni Maly stated she has inquired into commissioning a bronze or bust of Shaler to honor his legacy.
Maly also mentioned plans for murals of notable historical figures of Waupun to be painted downtown, which would honor figures such as the Wilcox Family, Clarence Shaler, and John van Hengel, who founded the first food bank in the United States.
In regard to the Eddies & Etchings sculpture itself—while a more abstract piece—it was designed to mimic the river’s curves through Waupun. This would allow the sculpture to be used as an educational tool, which is one of the reasons it was placed closer to Rock River Intermediate.
Maly mentioned that the reason it wasn’t closer to the school—such as in Richard Holmes Park, which is school property—was due to that area being considered a flood plain and unsuitable for a sculpture to be placed.
The Board unanimously voted to approve the location near the Harris Mill Park shelter.
Following the Board of Public Works meeting, the City Council met and Maly presented all of the sculptures that will be on rotation this year through the Waupun Sculpture Tour. Three more rotating sculptures were announced, on top of the permanent addition of Eddies & Etching.
Oxbow — Sponsored by Horicon Bank. A more abstract piece depicts the winding bends of a river that forms “S” shapes from their path. To be placed by Horicon Bank on Main St and Fox Lake Rd.
Saturday Distraction — Sponsored by Waupun Fine Arts. This sculpture depicts a child reading a book while a dog is jumping at his leg. It is to be placed in front of the Waupun Heritage Museum on Madison Street, near Charming Reads.
Catching the Wind — Sponsored by the Waupun Historical Society, DLWR; Beaver Dam Area Community Foundation, and SSM Health. This sculpture depicts a child flying a kite, symbolizing “imagination, progress, and the joy of discovery.” This sculpture was chosen due to its connection to Clarence Addison Shaler, who filed a patent for a kite during his time in Waupun. The sculpture is to be added to the permanent collection for a total of $15,100, of which $10,000 has already been raised. It is currently planned to be placed in the food truck alley.
There originally was to be a fourth new sculpture called “What the Future Holds” to be placed at the new Waupun Community Center, but it was purchased by another community before being sent to Waupun. The funds for this sculpture were originally allocated by the City earlier this year, but Maly requested they would go to the “Catching the Wind” fundraiser instead to permanently purchase.
The Council unanimously passed a motion for the proposed locations of the sculptures and the redirection of funds towards the sculpture fundraiser.
“Last year’s Sculpture Tour was exciting because it was the first annual, so now we are fully equipped to go through the rotation of a year, and we have a better understanding of how it’s set up and how it’s taken down,” Maly said following the meeting. “The sculptures will be brought in to Waupun about May 21st, and so we’ll do the launch on June 6.”
“Our rotation is continuous, and we’re hoping to obtain five to ten rotations in the upcoming years, and then our goal is to purchase one sculpture per year,” she also said.
Sculptures brought to Waupun for the Sculpture Tour program are on display for eleven months, from June to the following May. If they are not purchased, they go out to other communities and organizations involved with the program to be displayed around the country. Waupun originally joined the affiliation program with the Eau Claire Sculpture Tour in 2023.
As for Rosie the Riveter, the “We Can Do It” fundraiser campaign was successful in collecting the funds necessary to purchase the sculpture for the community’s permanent collection. Create Waupun is expected to unveil the sculptures at the food truck alley on June 6, where they will officially announce the purchase.
Rosie will remain in her current location out front of National Rivet on Main Street until a more suitable permanent location can be found.
