By Aubreanna Miller
For the Herald
When opening band saw blades from either a store or from the mail, one may offhandedly notice the blades expand into a shape. For sculptor David Hyduke of Minnesota, this phenomenon, reminding him of a type of orbit, sparked inspiration for a sculpture.
The resulting "Orbit II" now resides at the Northeast corner of Second and Main Streets as part of Wayne's 2023 Sculpture walk.
This project took Hyduke around a month to complete. Starting off with flat sheet metal, he dedicated hours to shaping, expanding bands and welding to achieve the final piece.
"I sometimes do figures, but mostly, I focus on abstract forms deriving from nature," Hyduke said.
Hyduke began his art career in college with painting and drawing. Before that, he surrounded himself with artist-type people, but never dived into the practice himself.
His mid-20s sparked his interest in sculpting. He began working with sculptor Paul Granlund from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Together, they bronze casted many sculptures and Hyduke fell in love with the process.
Granlund convinced Hyduke to create his own bronze foundry so he could cast his art and the work of other local artists.
At the time, many colleges had their own small foundries, so he reached out for help in shaping his workshop, constructing some of the equipment himself.
To this day, he still casts bronze pieces in his foundry, but that has slowed in recent years.
At 74 years- old, Hyduke has largely transitioned into making bigger steel sculptures as they are less labor intensive.
Hyduke has made a name for himself throughout the years selling work, doing commissions and in recent years, participating in sculpture walks.
Currently, he is working on a commission for the family of a former Gustavus Adolphus College faculty member.
Hyduke said he loved his visit to the Wayne area when he dropped off his sculpture.
"Wayne is a lovely community," he said. "It reminds me a lot of where I grew up. I drove around to visit the college and other businesses. When I went on vacation after that first visit, I made sure my route took me through Wayne so I could see the area again and relax for awhile in the park."
