Well, hey, folks, welcome to Cowboy State Daily’s podcast, “The Roundup.” I'm your host, Wendy Corr. So glad you could all join us!
I am very excited about our interview today, because we get to talk to one of Wyoming's premier sculpture artists today, and his name is Chris Navarro. You have probably heard his name, but I'm telling you what, if you've not seen his large form bronzes, you are missing out. And so, I'm just tickled to be able to talk to Chris about his artwork, about his background, about his inspirations, and so we're just gonna go straight to Chris. So, Chris, hello, welcome to Cowboy State Daily’s, “The Roundup.” We're so glad to have you with us.
Chris Navarro
Well, I'm glad to be here.
Wendy Corr
Chris, tell me a little bit about what it is that you are most most excited about right now what's happening in your life right now and in your work right now that you're excited about?
Chris Navarro
Well, I've just been a bunch of monuments. So I'm hoping that some of them are gonna come in. That's the thing about it. You know, I'll bet a dozen monuments to hit one. But you know, it's been my that way the whole career.
So you know, the wintertime I own a gallery in Sedona, Arizona. I've owned this gallery for 23 years now, my wife and I have built a home here too. So we winter in Sedona, Arizona. And I have a large studio here also. So I continue to make art here and I still cast all my sculptures in Wyoming, and I have two foundries that I'm using now. I'm using Cody, which is Coleco foundry, and I'm also using Eagle bronze in Lander, Wyoming. So my bronzes are actually cast and made in Wyoming.
But, you know, I went down here a few years ago and I thought it's pretty tough, so we winter in Arizona. And I can rope, so I bring my -- you know, Arizona is the team roping capital, in Wickenburg, Arizona, so, I rope during the winter also, it's kind of my little bit of fun things I get to do.
So I was a rodeo cowboy. I still got that in my blood a little bit. I still get to compete in roping. So that's what I kind of another reason I like to come to Arizona, but Wyoming is my home and it's always going to be my home.
Wendy Corr
Let's talk about that you grew up here in Wyoming. Tell me about that.
Chris Navarro
I did not really grow up in Wyoming. I moved to Wyoming when I was 18. My dad was a professional soldier. So my dad is a veteran of Korea, World War Two and Vietnam. And so his life was in the military, his whole career. He started out as a private in World War Two. And then when he finally retired he was a lieutenant colonel and he went through and put himself, got a college degree and became, you know, he was in the Army and then transferred into the Air Force after Korea. He spent a year in Korea during the war. And he told me to see the planes flying above and he said, I'd rather be up there than down here.
So I kind of grew up everywhere. I mean, I was born in on an airbase, I graduated high school at an airbase and then I came to Wyoming in 1974. I came from San Antonio, Texas, that's where my family's from, both my parents were raised in San Antonio, Texas.
And I remember I bought an old car for $250. It was a ‘66 Plymouth, I loaded everything I had in a truck and I drove up to Casper, Wyoming. I never had been to Wyoming before and I started to go and that's when I went to Casper College.
I really wanted to be a professional bull rider and I started riding bulls when I was 16, and broncs, and that's how I really want I thought it you know, they were guys making a living at it back then but not much of a living and then but you know, it was my passion you know, I kind of got hooked on it. So Casper College was known for having great rodeo teams back then. So I thought, well, Wyoming is a cowboy state and I'm a cowboy and I want to go to Wyoming, and that's how I ended up there.
Wendy Corr
So you got to Wyoming for rodeo. You graduated from Casper College?
Chris Navarro
Yes. ‘76 was my last year at Casper College, you know I didn't major in art back, then I didn't even know you can make a living as an artist. So my major was Animal Science Technology. And then when I started becoming an artist, I started going back to Casper College at night, you know, and I’d get off work and I started taking painting, drawing, photography, creative writing, I took a lot of things that I knew that I would need to help me with my art career. You know Casper College has always been important in my life and I lived in Bailey Hall for two years -- you know you’re old when the your dorm room doesn't even exist anymore. They tore it down.
Wendy Corr
Oh yeah, no, I know I went to Casper College as well, and it hurts my heart when that stuff happens.
Chris Navarro
But yeah, Bailey's, and I lived my first two years in Wyoming there and then then I tried to Rodeo right out of college, I rodeo’d for nine months straight. And that's all I did. And when I when I tell people I quit, right now support couldn't afford to pay attention. So I said, I got to make a living. And you know, my dad wasn't too thrilled about it, you know, to be honest with you. So I went and got a job working in a Wyoming oilfield, it was booming back in 1977. So that's when I started working in the oil field.
Wendy Corr
What was it that made you pick up sculpting? What made you say, I think I want to try sculpting? What made you say, I want to pick up this piece of clay and transform it into something.
Chris Navarro
Well, what happened is, it was all by accident, because no I could rodeo and you know, riding roughstock, and I thought something was missing in my life. And then I went with a guy who was my roommate. And we went to, we were out hunting out by Lost Cabin, Wyoming and he said his cousin was a caretaker for this sculptor named Harry Jackson. And he said we're going to stop by there to eat lunch.
So we drove in there, and man, I was just blown away. He had a studio in his home there and he had all these beautiful art and Navajo blankets. He had a huge lever action Winchester collection. And I mean, I was just walking through and going, Man, this guy's got some amazing things. And then I saw this bronze that he had it was called “Two Champs,” and it was a guy riding a bucking horse. So, Steamboat. It's a famous sculpture, it's called “Two Champs,” like I said, and I said, Man, that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I'd like to own that. And the guy told me, I go, Well, it's $35,000. And this was in 1979. So, and I'm working in the oil field, and I'm not making $35,000 a year. And I'm thinking like, wow, that's a pretty lot, man. But that's so beautiful. Maybe I can make me one .
You know, art was always my favorite subject in high school. And I never, I never even in my mind thought you can make a living, and I was seeing what a good living this guy was making as a sculptor. And I thought, well, I'd like to give it a try.
So the very next day, I went down to go Dick's Art Store on Second Street. And I talked to John Gould. The first time I met him, he was a nice guy. And I said, I want to be a bronze artist and sell me all the supplies. And then I drove over the Natrona County Library, and I went to the library and asked her to give me all the books they had on sculpting. And I took them home start to sculpt made my first sculpture.
Wendy Corr
That is a plug not only for local influences, but also for the power of libraries.
Chris Navarro
Oh yeah, I'm still a big fan of the Natrona County Library, I've done some things to help them, I helped design one of their mobile libraries, did the art work on it. And I've donated some work to help them because I went over there one time, because, you know, before the internet, I mean, you used the library. And now the internet's changed things a lot. But back in 1980, you know, and you know, there was no internet. So and the library was so good to me down there, they would get like, if I wanted any book in the United States, they'd go get that book for me, you know, and it was just, I kind of built a relationship with the director there, and some of the librarians, and I've always been a big supporter. You know, that's one thing about Casper, we probably have one of the better libraries in the whole state. It's, it's real fortunate that we have it there.
Wendy Corr
I agree. It's a fantastic library there. And I just want to stop and make a point, about the fact that you give back. It is important for you to support the things that are important to you. And so, tell me a little bit about ways that you have done that. I know that there are some sculptures that you've given to schools, there are sculptures that you have commissioned for people – “The Sacred Heart of Jesus” is to me, a fantastic example of kind of giving back.
Chris Navarro
Well, you know, what, captures my hometown and I wanted to leave as many sculptures I can, even a lot of sculptures that I've done at cost or less than cost, you know, just to get them done.
One that comes to mind is “Spirit of the Thunderbird,” you know, we did that back in, it was the 50th anniversary. So, you know, Casper College was my, my alma mater, I guess and I, you know, Bill Landon, he and I went to college together. And he was in fact, he was our dorm room monitor. And he came to me after I did the Lane Frost sculpture. He said, Chris, we gotta give him some about, you know, Casper College is having their 50th anniversary, it would be cool if we did something like a big sculpture, you know, you got any ideas?
And we sat down. So we did Casper College, and they didn't have the money to make the sculpture so. So I said, Well, we'll raise the money by selling casts -- the same thing I did for the Lane Frost. Because sometimes, you know, I try to, like I commissioned myself to do my first big public one, which was, since I was a bull rider, and the first sculpture I ever did was bullrider Lane Frost, who got killed in Cheyenne in 1989. And he was the ‘87 world champion, and he was only 25. And he was a legend, you know, and he didn't do anything wrong. He just got in the wrong place. And a bull killed him right there in the arena.
So my first idea was to build the Lane Frost monument, and I did that in 1992. I started on that sculpture, I was 36 years old at the time, it was my first big public monument. And I was excited about it, and then when I gave my presentation to Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo committee, they turned me down. And I said, ‘Well, I'll raise the money,’ and because I needed to raise about $150,000 back then. And I needed to make 150 small casts, which ended up it was an additional 250. But that's just the break-even, just to pay for the monument and the 150 casts. I always figured if I do these things, the money will come eventually. So that's how I did it.
So I raised it. Next day. I know that those MCATs all sold took off and people responded because you know, I was given them a pretty nice, something for the $1,000 you go ask people hey, give me $1,000 And they're gonna say yeah, okay. You say hey, I'm gonna give you this. I'm gonna give you something that's worth $1,500 And you give the $1,000 and you'll get your name on the bronze plaques and you're one of the people that donated it. And that's how it came around.
Well that was the first time I'd raised the money to do something like that. And then I did it again with Casper College, wit the spirit of the Thunderbird. And we raised all the money by selling casts, we just just got to the break even point, where we just had to have the money because you know, bronze foundry casting is very expensive. And so also did that with the big Mustang in Natrona County High School, it’s in the endzone, and both my kids graduated, and my wife graduated,
from NC. So, you know, it's kind of cool if that piece is there. And then I did another piece at St. Anthony's school, and I did the one with the Matthew Shepard Memorial. It was it was, you know, I mean, I didn't really, I mean, I need money to work and continue what I'm doing, but it was not the main driving force in my life. And now I've got those big sculptures. And they're always going to be in my hometown, and they're going to be there for a long, long time.
Wendy Corr
Yes, they are. That's one of the great things about your sculptures, Chris, is that they are so visible to all of us here in Wyoming. I come back to the T Rex that you did at Casper College recently. Your large form bronzes are so huge. One of the things that you and I had talked about last year, or maybe it was earlier this year, about the lighting that you're using, and incorporating into some of your sculptures now. Whether it's the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whether it is the T Rex there at the museum there. Well, tell me about that. Because that's, that's just fun.
Chris Navarro
You know, I've only done two sculptures with light radiating out of them. And both of them were commissioned by a sweet little lady named Mary Alice Tobin, she passed away before I finished the third commission she had for me, and you know, she was, I mean, she's probably about four foot 10. And just nice. I mean, she wanted things done her way, though.
So first time I met her, was for the T Rex sculpture. And she goes, I want you to do a dinosaur. I want light to radiate out of it. And I thought, Wow, a dinosaur. I said, Well, so if I'm gonna do a T Rex, and I’m gonna have light coming out of it, it's got to have negative space in it. And the only way to go, I'll make one half skeleton and one half flesh. And that's how I came up with the concept, it was all from her. Her words just mentioned to me, I want to do a dinosaur and the lights got to come out.
Well, she liked that sculpture so much that when the next year, she calls me to say, I'd like to do one, I want to leave something to Casper, the city of Casper. And that's when she came up with the idea of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she wanted me to do a big sculpture of Jesus with his arms opened up wide, you know, blessing and welcoming the people of Casper, and she wanted light to come out of that. And that's why I came up with the Sacred Heart.
And it's kind of cool to drive by it at night and see the light coming out. And so let's, uh, like I said, the two pieces I've done were both because of Mary Alice Tobin, who wanted light coming out of them. And I thought it was a cool idea. And it was a challenge to make them that way. Plus, it gave them a unique twist. You know, not a lot of sculptures of light coming out.
Wendy Corr
That's exactly what I was just going to say, is that you're kind of taking the traditional bronze sculpture and you are you're adding to it, you're making it yours, and very specifically and uniquely yours. What are some other ways that you've done, Chris, that somebody can look at a Chris Navarro sculpture and say, ‘That's Chris Navarro.’
Chris Navarro
Well, I like my sculptures, I have a little different take on I'm like, the first piece I ever put in Casper was Eagle against the sun, it's down there on first and Center Street. And that was commissioned by a local resident to she wanted to memorialize her son, who was killed in an airplane crash in Alaska. So I came up with this design of Eagle against the sun, using that big abstract circle. I like the circle in a lot of my sculptures back, I'm working on some sculptures now that have the circle. And you know, the circles are pretty tough to design, and so I just like mine to have a little bit different, unique twist to them.
So like, essence of Rex is very different. I've never seen a sculpture that's half flesh and half with light coming out of it too. And, and my take on Jesus is very different. And even St. Anthony's Joy, I have him where, you know, I should toss my kids in the air and it would make them so happy. You know, and, and, you know, so it's called St. Anthony's joy and he's throwing Baby Jesus up in the air like you do with your little kids and he's catching them, you know, because all the ones I've seen a saint of St. Anthony, he has the Bible and the lilies and they're in the sculpture, but he sat them down on the ground while he picked Jesus up and thrown him up in there.
It's like to have this a little bit of a different take on it, a sculpture that's reversible. It's called duality of the bull and the bear, and it's about the bull and the bear stock market. So one way you flip it over and the bears, putting it on the bull and then flip it back over and the bulls beating the bear. So
Wendy Corr
How do you figure this out? I mean that that takes some engineering.
Chris Navarro
Yeah, it takes a little engineering, but it's all imagination. You know, I mean, I like to, I don't know how my mind works all the time, I try not to over analyze it. So sometimes these ideas come to me in my mind -- right now I'm trying to do a monument here in Sedona, I submitted it, it's called Dream Catcher. And I was the reason I came by, I was driving all the way back here to Arizona, going to Page, Arizona. And there's all these Navajo little shops that they sell their jewelry on. And they had this great big one with a, maybe a 12 foot tall Dreamcatcher. And it was two ravens sitting on top of it. And I'm driving by and I'm hauling my horses, and I'm going about 70 miles an hour and I go, man, I can't pull over stop. And I remember that picture. And I kept thinking about it, oh, that would make a really cool sculpture.
So you don't ever know how these ideas come to you. So I'm trying to do that monument of that, you know, I've been I'm submitting it and then make a dream catcher, make it out of steel, and then put a bronze Raven on top of it. Because you know, I don't know that that image kind of works together in my idea, you know, you never know where you where these ideas strike you.
Just like my wind turbine sculpture deal. That’s been a, that's been a struggle. But you know, most of the things in life that are hard to do are worthwhile. But I sure I've got a lot of no’s on that project.
Wendy Corr
So you just segued into where I was going to go, I was going to ask you about the wind turbine projects. And again, this is something that's got dual purpose, not only are you creating a unique sculpture, you're doing it to recycle wind turbine blades. So tell me a little bit about how you got inspired to kind of take that and run with it.
Chris Navarro
The Casper Star Tribune, they had a picture on there with a great big D9 cat, it was an aerial shot. And it's pretty famous picture now because you know, if you put it in there, and it shows this big D9 cat out of our landfill, burying these blades, and these blades are huge. They were like, so they cut them into three lengths. So they're like 40 foot lengths, or about 120 foot long the blades that they were burying out there. And I just saw that all that material being just thrown away. And I thought, maybe I can take that material and make some sculptures from it. So my mind started working like that, I started doing some sketching, and I did some casts.
And then I started contacted some energy companies. And I was thinking like, you know, why don't you give me those blades. And you know, because it was spending quite a bit of money to bury it. And because I went out there, I went out to the landfill and checked all those blades out, they're already pretty much hammered and destroyed because they’re just dumping them off flatbeds and throwing them on the ground and having a cat bury these blades. They're burying them in layers. So there's a big, they have a lot of room out there. And now they've got I don't know acres of those blades buried out there. And those but those blades on it are never probably going to decompose.
So I thought well, there's got to be a better way to do this and that and that's what I came up with. Maybe I'll you know, make some sculptures out. I couldn't think of anything what's more powerful than taking something destined for the landfill and turn it into a beautiful piece of art?
Wendy Corr
What are your concepts for these sculptures, for these large form sculptures?
Chris Navarro
Well, the one that I've got to go ahead and I'm trying to do what with the Platte River trust is wind cathedral. And that's where I'm just taking the, when they cut the blades, they cut them in like 40-45 foot lengths. So I'm going to take 45 foot lengths, and I'm going to interlock them together at a probably a 45 degree angle, and you're gonna be able to, it's gonna be on the bike trail, you're able to ride your bike and walk through them.
And I was gonna call it “Wind Cathedral,” so it's a tier system where you go through, and the one I really wanted to build was the one after Stonehenge, I was going to make a replica of Stonehenge before it deteriorated and it's going to be 108 foot diameter.
I mean I've given I don't even know how many presentations I've given on this half a dozen at least and I'm finally got a yes with the Platte River trust but then you know, I'm still working with the companies the in there. I'm finding it all these things about these blades, they don't want to give you the blueprints on them. And that's a problem and then another problem is worried about some liability and you know, it's always difficult when you're working with a committee a 12 committee one is when I usually get things done.
But you know, I haven't given up on it. I'm still working on it. I'm a fact I've spent I've put a lot of time money and energy into this. I made five bronze casts, and there's five different designs that I have. I have a wind lodge I have been men's hands, which I, and then when cathedral, and then I'm gonna try to do, I'll send you copies of all the designs I've got. But you know, I've cast more of them into bronzes. So I've got one in my studio one I got where the sun's coming up. And it's like the rays of the sun. I mean, I think there'll be some great designs.
You know, you're not gonna please everybody, that's for sure. But you got to do what's in your heart. Now on my, I wish my intuition went and got a hold me on this one. Because it's been a, it's been a real struggle to be honest with you. There's been a lot harder struggle, than I thought it'd be. I thought, well, these people would say, I'm gonna take care of, get rid of some of their blades. They won't have to pay to bury them. Maybe I'll build something cool. But it seems like, I don't know, when you're an artist, you got to deal with a lot of no’s in your life, you got to deal with a lot of rejection. And I've always tried to make rejection work for me. So like, I tell people, just because you say no, doesn't mean I can't do it just means I can't do it with you.
Wendy Corr
That's right. That's awesome. Excellent. I'm so sorry that it's not worked out with these wind turbines. But I'm so glad you're not giving up on it yet.
Chris Navarro
I'm committed, I've told everybody I'm gonna do it. And I've always been pretty proud about keeping my word. And I'm, and I've been working with Angelina Maria. And I've been keeping her in Florida, because I St. Francis. And she's kind of No, she's been kind of going through the struggle with me a little bit trying to get these wind turbine blades given to us so we can go ahead and do this. That's the main problem right now, as they say they want to give us the blades, and but they just haven't done it. And there's there seems like there's always kind of a reason not to so I'm still I'm still hopeful, I think, you know, they're gonna be building more of these big wind farms in Wyoming. And there's gonna be some more ways because you know, those wind farm those wind blades, they only last 15 to 20 years. It's not like they have an indefinite time. But, you know, I'm gonna make them stationary. So they should last for hundreds of years, you know, what I'm hoping you know, they're gonna be you know, you're gonna have to paint them every 10-15 years, keep them maintained from the weather, but they're pretty tough. They're designed to spin a couple 100 feet up in the air, no matter how strong the winds are. So I don't know. I'm optimistic.
Wendy Corr
I like it. That's good. You've, you've done so many different types of media, you've mixed media, you're wanting to mix the wind turbines with the bronze, you've mixed bronze with steel? Where do you see your next project? Now, you're talking about Sedona, you're talking about the dream catcher? What are some of the things, you have to have a whole list of ideas?
Chris Navarro
No, I probably got ideas, to keep me busy for the next few years, for sure. The problem is, you know, I've been doing this full time. That'd be 38 years now. And I'm gonna be 68 next month, so I don't know how much physicality, you know, building big sculptures. You know, I spent a lot of time on scaffolding, and ladders. And you know, when I was, every time I'm in one of these, I, you know, man, I just don't see the end in sight real quick. But you know, months later, you know, it slowly comes in, it's just like, how do you begin a journey of 1000 miles, we'll take the first step. And that's kind of always get you through it.
The thing that's so satisfying about doing big monuments setup, like tabletop sculptures, is that you know, that it's gonna be out in the public, for everybody to see. And the great thing about bronze is gonna last, I mean, they have bronzes that are 5000 years old, and were made in China and, and to know that, you know, my bronze is going to be around 500-1000 years from now that's, that's pretty inspiring, you know, keeps me wanting to do more. Because you know, I can retire right now if I wanted to, but I don't want to.
Wendy Corr
We don't want you to.
Chris Navarro
When you retire, that's when you get old.
Wendy Corr
Yes, you're right. Give us just a glimpse into the process, start to finish, from the first time that you hold the model in your hand, the blank piece of clay in your hand, to the finished bronze. It's been to Coleco foundry, it's been to wherever you're going to have it done. What happens? How long does it take?
Chris Navarro
Well, I usually I try to do one monument a year, because they take a long time. And so, what I'll do is I'll make a study piece, it's called a moquette. And I'll make a sculpture moquette. I usually cast them in bronze also.
So like when I did the spirit of the Thunderbird, I made an 18 inch tall moquette and then I enlarge that moquette -- this is back in the olden days, before they had computers working to help you do this. So I had a lot of access to oilfield pipe, so I'd make a big steel armature. And then I had a guy that would bring in a urethane foam machine and he'd spray the foam onto my armature. And then I'd carve all the all foam back and then I put a layer of clay on it.
And then I'd sculpt the clay and make it into and sculpture. And I started out everything with a height gauge and a metric grid. So when I would get everything proportional wise, then you put all your equipment away, and then you start eyeballing it and sculpt it by hand. And then after you get that done, you have to cut your shim the sculpture and cut it into segments.
Because like, I don't know, the essence of Rex, the big T Rex that was hidden over 100 molds. So each of those has to be molded, and then you make a silicone rubber mold of the monument, it’s called the mother mold. That's how you can do limited editions, but each one of them's handmade. So you take the you pour waxes, that 180 degrees into the molds. And then when you get the waxes out, you take all the imperfections out of the wax, called Chasing waxes. So when you get all the imperfection out, because your bronze is going to look just is going to be as thick as the wax, and it's going to have any of the defects or the detail of the wax.
So then you pour it put these into dip vats, and these are ceramic shell. That's why it's called lost wax casting. So every time you see a big monument or any size bronze, there's a wax replica that's destroyed in the process. So you go from a positive I make my originals out of clay, I make a mold out of silicone rubber for waxes in there and I have another positive image.
Now I put a ceramic shell mold around the so it has to have at least about eight coats of shell on it. Yeah, let each that's why it takes a long time to make bronzes. And then you pour the molten bronze in at close to 2000 degrees. And that's why the ceramic shell mold can contain the heat. And it has to be vented and pipe.
It's an art form, in casting for sure and and then you destroy the shell mold. So you destroy the wax, and you destroy the shell mold every time you cast a sculpture. Now, people are always asking why bronze are so expensive to make just because all the labor is involved in and the foundry men are definitely artisans in their own right, you know, because it takes a lot of work to do these.
And then you weld the sculpture all back together with silicon bronze rods, and then you -- It's like putting a big puzzle back together. So you'll you'll know that you have plate one and two go together and three and four, then you kind of like number them all so you assemble it. And then you see all the weld lines in there. And then you got to go back and grind all the weld lines smooth and put the texture back in. And then the final is you put a patina on there, which is a chemical reaction of oxidizing metal and you put it on with a torch after you sandblast it. Then you have your finished bronze. It's just that easy.
Wendy Corr
It's that easy. That's fascinating, I think for anybody who has not seen the process -- I've been fortunate and have been to Caleco foundry and seen the process in in the various stages.
Chris Navarro
I've had a video out on it that shows the process -- in fact I have a YouTube channel, I probably have 140 videos. That's another thing, you’ve got to wear a lot of hats when you're sculptor. You know, I do my own photography, my video work, I do my writing. I create you know, I kind of the best way to show sculptures on the internet is really with video. So I rotate those sculptures while I'm talking about them, and people can see them from all angles, is a great thing about sculpture. It's three dimensional, it's like life, you know, it's not like a painting.
And there's another great thing about bronze, it is a very durable, strong metal. In fact, I've had several my sculptures be in house fires and the sculptures have survived when everything's been burned to the ground. And the sculptures need a new basis, it needs to be re patina and sandblasted. But the basic sculpture was still there, it was still salvageable.
Wendy Corr
And it's a legacy. Chris, we're running out of time here. But this has been a fascinating conversation. Tell us about your website, and where we can go to see your videos, and to see the process of what you do to create these amazing works of art.
Chris Navarro
Well, I have a pretty good website, it's called Chrisnavarro.com. I first got my first website back in ‘96. So I've been in website business for a bit, and I've got a YouTube channel, it says Chris Navarro studio. And I've got, like I said, I’ve got 140 videos that I've made on there. And I've written four books also. And now my books are at the Natrona County Library, go check one out.
Wendy Corr
That's great. Chris, thank you so much for your time. We are anxious to see what you have next coming up, and so we'll keep an eye on your website and on your YouTube channel. I'm sure you’ve got Facebook and everything as well.
Chris Navarro
Oh yeah, Facebook's good. And I wanted to talk about one more thing, because you know Casper is my hometown. I've got 16 outdoor sculptures in Casper as of today. I hope to put it another dozen up before I leave this world, and if anybody is interested in having another sculpture and wants to work with me, especially in Casper, I'm kind of bending over backwards to make sure that these get done, so contact me.
I'd love to make some more sculptures and I've got 10 large pieces that are limited editions. And I have, that's one of the reasons I have my gallery in Sedona is so huge. I have a good sculpture garden. So I’ve got like nine big pieces out front of my gallery in Sedona and I'm in other galleries in Wyoming. I'm in the Big Horn gallery in Cody, Wyoming. I'm in DeSelms Fine Art in Cheyenne, and I'm in Mountain Trails gallery in Jackson Hole.
Wendy Corr
Well, we know where to find your work, then for sure.
Chris Navarro
It's been great talking to you. I really appreciate it.
Wendy Corr
I appreciate it. And so do our listeners and our viewers here, Chris, thanks so much. And please keep that artwork coming. It's inspiring. And it's really, truly Wyoming.
Chris Navarro
Well, I plan on doing this until I can't do it no more, probably when I'm dead.
Wendy Corr
Well, we hope that's a long time a long time coming. Thank you, Chris, very much. And folks, thank you for tuning in to “The Roundup,” a Cowboy State Daily Podcast. We're sure glad that you tuned in this week. Stay tuned, we will have another great guest next week, check out Cowboy State Daily.com. Sign up for our free daily newsletter at Cowboy State Daily.com and get all of the great stories and people coming right to your inbox. So thanks a lot, Chris. And thank you folks for tuning in. Take care.
