It was a text message that led to a 30-foot dragon perched atop the Westerville Public Library.
Curtis Smith, operations manager for The Point at Otterbein University’s maker space and laboratory, is good friends with Erin Francoeur, executive director of the library.
“Erin texted me and she said, ‘I want to build a dragon,’” Smith says. “And I thought that it was crazy idea.”
Naturally, then, he agreed to the project, which would be ready to unveil at the library’s second Wizards and Wands Festival in 2019.
Smith, who has an MFA in sculpture, took on the creation of the art installation with the help of five or six interns at The Point and Otterbein students.
Hilda, who was named by library patrons, is made of steel, wood, vinyl, foam and latex. Since her debut, Hilda has had a body, head and tail. In 2020, The Point added a wing to her sculpture, which now hangs over the edge of the library building. The wing is made with PVC plastic tubing and a special two-part epoxy mix.
The first-generation Hilda became a time crunch to complete, says Smith. After Uptown Westerville Inv. reviewed and approved the building plans for the dragon’s architecture, The Point crew had only three to four weeks to build the dragon.
Smith says he’s unsure how many hours were put into building Hilda.
“I don’t even want to know… I was basically living there,” he says. “But it wasn’t too bad. It was a short-term project and I’ve done it before.”
Initially, the makers were looking into the possibility of making Hilda breathe actual fire, but the fire hazard and safety considerations got in the way. After consulting with the fire marshal, they decided against combustion and, instead, chose CO2 smoke to give Hilda the illusion of having just breathed fire.
Smith says the drive of the maker space interns was inspiring and fun to watch. Most of the students involved were engineering majors, plus one art student.
One of the advantages of the unique undertaking was the exposure students gained to community and multiple-entity project management.
“It’s exposing students to different organizations in the city and allowing them to work together,” Smith says. “It takes a team.”
The Friends of the Westerville Public Library sponsored the project to help bring attention to the Wizards and Wands Festival.
Hilda will once again be on display on the roof of the library during October, when the Wizards and Wands Festival takes place. Throughout the month, Hilda breathes smoke and roars every 30 minutes during the hours of 5-9 p.m. While not guarding over the festival-goers, Hilda spends the rest of the year out of sight on the library roof.
She was built extremely safely and durably, Smith says, with materials such as highly flame-retardant two-by-fours.
In the future, Smith expects more additions to Hilda. Suggestions have included a baby, an egg or even a giant taco.
The Point has now been in existence for six years. The unique maker space has been working on contacted sales and custom fabrications for businesses, including the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and Bibibop. It is available for hire for all kinds of projects from laser custom awards to manager plaques. Smith says he has six to 10 students interns at any time during the school year.
On Oct. 28, Midnight Madness will take place in Uptown Westerville. During this free event for all ages, costumes are encouraged for a night of enchanting improv, mystical science, flying falcons and more celebrations of fantasy fandom.
Hilda the Dragon will certainly be there, too.
Claire Miller is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback is welcome at cmiller@cityscenemediagroup.com.
