“Falcon”
at The Grove at Cerritos Affordable Senior Housing Community
Updated October 12, 2016
Oregon artist Michael Maiden, nationally known for his wildlife sculptures, created the dramatic “Falcon” sculpture that greets visitors to The Grove at Cerritos.
Cast from nearly 1,800 pounds of bronze, the sculpture depicts a falcon in flight, using his 12-foot wing span to “rise” from a fountain below. The falcon, official mascot of Cerritos College, is located on the corner of Studebaker Road and New Falcon Way.
Raised on a ranch in Washington state, Maiden parlayed his fascination with wildlife into an artistic career, trading his hunting rifle for modeling clay. He earned a bachelor's degree in fine art and education from Central Washington State University in 1972, later joining the Army National Guard and becoming a public school teacher. He established the Maiden Foundry in 1975, eventually gaining worldwide attention for his highly detailed sculptures of wildlife.
“It's not enough to create sculpture simply by mastering the modeling media,” he has said. “You must also have a connection to the spirit of wildlife…becoming an expert on their life cycles and behaviors, developing a natural sensitivity to the animal's being.”
Each of his works is cast in solid bronze, working from an original sculpted model by selectively applying color-rich patinas in distinct contrast to highly polished metal surfaces.
Maiden's work can be found in many museums, fine art galleries and corporate collections around the world. Most notably, he created the Statue of Freedom at Freedom Park in Arlington, VA, a bald eagle for Crystal Cathedral and the Roslyn Miner Memorial in Washington.
