Thursday Feb. 20 | 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Cultural Crossroads Learning Center.

Talk and power point presentation with: Kristin McDonald, Natalie Diedrick and Joel Petersen. Included with paid museum admission; free for Museum members, and children 17 and under with an adult.

Kristin McDonald, just 21, had been working in paint and auto body but was looking for a more creative career. When she saw a bronze foundry was hiring, she figured her interest in art and background in metal would make her a good fit, so she approached them about a job. She was hired on the spot and shortly after met Erik Petersen, a patina artist and sculptor. From there, she learned the art of patina from him, and together they grew in their understanding of the medium, experimenting and working collaboratively to achieve the best possible patinas that complemented both the sculpture and the artist’s vision.

About four years ago, a 15-year-old Natalie Diedrick walked through the door at The Bronze Age foundry looking for a job where Erik and Kristin worked at the time. She had already met Erik a few years prior when she entered a sculpture contest at Prescott’s Phippen Museum that Erik judged. Natalie ended up winning second place. She impressed both Erik and Kristin and landed her first job as a patina apprentice under them. They threw themselves into training her. Before she turned 18, Natalie had already cast three bronzes.

Around the same time, Erik’s father, who had worked with him for years began sculpting. Just shy of 70, he cast his first sculpture and has continued to create and sell wildlife bronzes regularly.

Pictured: Kristin McDonald doing the patina on her bronze “Fitting In”. Natalie Diedrick working on a John Coleman bronze. Joel Petersen watching over as Erik patinas a John Coleman bronze.

Cultural Crossroads Learning Center
(Corner of Tegner St and Wickenburg Way)
10 N Tegner St
Wickenburg, AZ 85390