The Flylords had the pleasure of meeting Amanda Willshire, a gifted sculptor and fishing guide living in Denver, Colorado. Amanda’s lifelong creativity and love of fly fishing have culminated in her larger-than-life sculptures. Amanda’s work captures the wonder of the natural world through her creative use of salvaged materials. Learn more about Amanda, her guiding, and her artwork below!
When did you first break into fly fishing?
Willshire: When I was a young child, my Grammy and Pawpaw dug a pond they affectionately called “The Grandkids’ Pond” and stocked it with bream (sun perch) and catfish. When I got to spend the weekend with them, I was on that pond all day! My Pawpaw taught me bait fishing using a cane pole, and he’d have me dig up night crawlers. Then we’d catch bream and use them to fish for catfish. In my teens I asked him to teach me to fly fish, and he said “Oh, you just want to do that fancy trout fishing, don’t you!” He boasted that he used to practice his cast by throwing popping bugs at bottle caps he placed along his gravel driveway.
Several years later, Pawpaw called me and, with a stutter on his “M’s” and “W’s,” said “Ma, Ma, Mandy, they’ve given me six months to live, kid. I guess I’d better teach you to fly fish.” He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Over the next several months, I went out to their place on Sundays. After cooking them his favorite breakfast of grits and red-eye gravy with an over easy egg, we’d head outside for a fly fishing lesson. For the first few weeks, he had me casting to a stick he had driven in the ground. We started casting at fifteen feet and gradually increased the distance. I used his old seven weight, eight-foot Daiwa Regal Silver with a spring-action H-1 reel, which now hangs in my studio. Being on the water together gave us a chance to talk about the tough stuff, like his service as a Marine in World War II.
One day, when Pawpaw and I were on the pond working on my cast, my uncle Bill stopped by. Bill said, “I was just at the Walmart looking for a new jigging rod and accidentally picked up this damn fly rod! I don’t suppose you want it, Mandy?” That cheap “Silver Stream” rod was my first fly rod. Toward the end of Pawpaw’s life, Grammy would wheel him out in the wheelchair and he’d critique my cast. He crosses my mind every time I’m on the water. I think he’d get a kick out of how much my life revolves around fishing and I’m sure he’d have something to say about those “damn trout.”
When did you discover your interest in art?
Willshire: I got involved in the arts at a young age and dabbled in drawing, sculpture, and music throughout school. However, my love for fishing gave my artistic tendencies a run for their money! When I was nine, I was doing arts and crafts at summer camp, but got bored and “borrowed” some stick pins and dental floss. I took my friends outside, dug up some worms, and caught panfish in the creek running through camp. I guess you could say that was my first time guiding.
Eventually, I went into graphic design and worked for various publications and ad agencies before forming my own small agency for many years. In 2010 I started playing with hands-on art using recycled materials. My love for biking and beer led to using bike parts, bottle caps, and cans in the scenic pieces I’d create.
In 2015, I was doing some work with Oskar Blues’ Can’d Aid. They asked me to design and build a recycling receptacle that would travel around to the Burning Can events. The slogan for the recycling campaign was “Crush it” and the company is dedicated to cycling, so I designed a twelve-foot man named “Crush” who was built from bike parts and steel. I didn’t know how to weld at the time and purposefully designed the sculpture so that I would need to learn. A friend and metal sculptor in Denver helped me build the piece and taught me to weld. I’ve loved it ever since and have never looked back.
Tell us a little more about your guiding, where you fish, and a few things you’re looking forward to in 2024.
Willshire: I have been a guide for Tumbling Trout in Lake George for the past few years and started guiding for Front Range Anglers in Boulder last year. Each outfitter guides different waters, and Tumbling Trout is more to the south while Front Range Anglers is to the north. It’s great to guide on a variety of waters throughout the front range.
I also guide for Casting for Recovery, a non-profit organization dear to me. It provides fly fishing retreats to women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. The connections these women make while learning to fly fish has a huge impact on their recovery experience.
I am psyched to be fishing the Ladies Tarpon Tournament in Islamorada this year! I’m teaming up with the badass Captain Connor Flamm and am currently on a training tour of Florida fishing my way from Apalachicola to the Keys and back. Tarpon are my favorite fish and such beautiful, prehistoric creatures. They are a challenge and sometimes hard to find and feed. It’s difficult to get the hook set just right and hard to keep them on, but when everything comes together and the runs and jumps happen, it’s pretty incredible. I just love them.
How have you developed your skills as an artist?
Willshire: Practice and repetition are key. Just as I work on my cast I work on welding and plasma cutting. I practice welding various gauges of steel at different angles and different settings and take notes on what works best. Some projects, especially the large-scale public art pieces, push me to incorporate new methods or materials into the art.
Where do you draw inspiration for your pieces?
Willshire: It’s easy to draw inspiration from nature. In 2018 I had the opportunity to present an art project to Amazeum in Bentonville, Arkansas. I was sitting outside at Crystal Bridges doodling in my sketchbook. A mockingbird was calling in the tree, which gave me the idea to sculpt a giant mockingbird that actually mocks people. “The Incredible Electric Technicolor Mockingbird,” or “Maude,” was born. I designed her to be loudly colorful and, when a visitor talks to one of her worm friends, she mocks back what they said mixed with randomly selected tidbits from what prior visitors have said.
Since I love fly fishing, the steel fish came pretty easily. I first got the idea for the design when Mollie Simpkins asked me to build trophies for a tournament benefiting The Mayfly Project. The tournament logo was a trout sipping a bug off the water so I created that using layers of steel to delineate the features and depth of the fish. I also build custom fish based on anglers’ favorite catches. I recently recreated Rodrigo Salles’ world record peacock bass. It now hangs in the Rio Marie mothership in Brazil next to his IGFA record certificate. I’m psyched to go see it and fish for these jungle beauties later this year!
How would you describe your artistic style?
Willshire: During my first pitch to a city for a public art project, one of the chair members called my art “Industrial Mother Nature.” I like that description and have been known to use various recycled metal parts in my work. The belly of Maude the mockingbird is made from a 1970s Civil Air Patrol plane, and I built a thirteen-foot Sasquatch with fur made from thousands of bike parts.
What is your process for creating a new piece?
Willshire: For steel fish, I draw out the layers based on the features and depth of the fish. I then cut those layers from steel by hand using a plasma cutter. Next, I assemble the pieces and weld them in place, working each layer from the front to back. After a clean up, I add a coating of epoxy and they are ready to go. As a final touch, each fish is shipped in a wooden crate labeled “FRESH FISH CRATE.”
For public art, I answer an RFQ for a specific project in a specific city. If invited, I present to the city’s art committee. If selected, I get everything approved to build and build out the art. If it’s big or heavy, I build it in parts to fit together at the installation site. Everything comes together at installation time. Flexibility is key at installation as the project may or may not go as expected.
How can folks get in touch with you to book a fishing trip or purchase your art?
Willshire: To book a fishing trip, folks can contact me at Front Range Anglers (303) 494-1375 or Tumbling Trout (720) 363-2092. With questions about artwork, feel free to email amanda@awdart.com and follow on Instagram @awdart!
