Gary Prazen
07/08/1936
A Brief Biography
Gary Prazen was born and raised in Carbon County, UT. His father Frank Prazen owned
and operated a welding machine business in Price, UT. It was at that shop where Gary was
taught how to weld at around the age of 6. He would weld scraps of metal together making
bigger junk. He loved it and no other toy could be more fun than a welding machine.
In the years that followed Gary’s father taught him the arts of welding, brazing,
blacksmithing, fabricating, machining, and some skills that have never been taught in the
educational system. To Gary, his father was a genius, but this was to be discovered later in life,
because at the age of 17 Gary left home for California. In doing so, Gary cut the 11th grade and
never graduated high school. This is a decision that he still regrets to this day.
Later, when Gary came home, he went back to work for his father. It was during that
period of time that Gary met Janet Casey, and soon after, they were married. After they wed,
they moved to Los Angeles where they were both hired at Douglas Aircraft. Nine months later,
their son Dan was born. This made Gary the sole provider.
Since Gary had experience in welding and proved to have skills needed in the Douglas’s
new missile program, Gary was assigned to work with the scientists and metallurgists who were
developing that industry. The knowledge Gary received from that experience of working with
exotic metals prepared him even more for the future in which he had no idea lay before him.
Gary and his now family of four decided to come back home so he could help his father
in the family business. The sold their home in Torrance, CA and Janet, Dan, and their new baby
girl Mila Le took the train home. Meanwhile, Gary loaded a Mayflower van and left California.
He went right to work for his dad where after work and on weekends, Gary would create metal
artwork to supplement his income. He had to do this and be frugal because he was working for
his father during tough times. Soon Gary was making more money “on the side” with his
artwork, than he was making at his job.
Gary woke up his wife Janet one night and told her he had a design in his head about the
house he wanted to build. The house was a round octagon with a steel structure and a floating
foundation. Gary could not find anyone who would build the very unusual concrete foundation
that would support a house that floated on eight corners and was anchored in the center. Since
the house would be heated through the main frame that was made from rectangular square
tubing, the house would expand on fabrica pads under each corner of the foundation. He ended
up building the foundation himself. It took Gary, Janet, Dan, and some of Gary’s buddies around
a year to finish building the house. Since that time, other buildings were added as the business
grew. This is where Janet and Gary still reside and work today.
In 1978, John Wayne came to town endorsing a product used in the local coal mines.
Everyone in town was excited by the presence of this superstar. Gary was attending a water
meeting at his local Country Club one night because he was the County Commissioner. When
the meeting was over, he went and sat with some of his friends. One of whom had been
escorting John Wayne around the local mines. George Harmond and Chuck Compagni knew
John Wayne and one of them said, “Hey Prazen, why don’t you do a bronze sculpture of John
Wayne?” Gary calls this a Jack Daniels inspiration because the scene out of the movie True Grit
flashed in his mind, the scene where John put the reins in his teeth and with a rifle in one hand
and a pistol in the other said, “Fill your hands you SOB”. Without even thinking that he had
never done a bronze before, he said “I will”. It was a challenge that he just had to do and he
would figure the rest out later. One year later, his first bronze sculpture was flown to Newport,
CA. It was placed in John Wayne’s house so he could see it when he arrived home from the
hospital, his cancer was getting worse. They told Gary that John sat there for quite some time
and was very pleased. It was the last bronze John had received and it hit the API Wire, photo
and story. The response was enormous for Gary, as representatives were calling to represent him
in their galleries. If it wasn’t for John Wayne, Gary doubts that he would be where he is now. It
changed his direction in life.
At the time this happened, Gary was managing Pioneer Welding and Machine Co. He
was County Commissioner and still worked on building his house and his shop. He was also
teaching welding at the local college and working on his artwork. He continued to be active in
the Jaycee and Elks clubs and he was basically going crazy trying to cover all the bases. He
resigned his one year left as commissioner and he finished his commitment to the college. He
quit Pioneer Welding and went into fulltime designing and building his bronze foundry and
equipment. He was also doing his artwork on the side. He incorporated his new business under
the name of Original Creations, Inc.
The popular subject for bronze sculpture in the art galleries was Cowboys and Indians,
wildlife, modern abstract, and almost every other subject, but not the subject of mining. The
John Wayne sculpture was a success and was considered western, why not continue with this
subject matter? Gary had other ideas, and made a decision that his friends warned him against,
and that the decision was to take on the subject of mining. No artist had done this subject to any
degree that would compliment this industry. No artist had seemed to realize what an important
role mining played in our history. He thought it was an insult to the profession. His favorite
comment, when asked why he insisted on doing mining was and almost angry response of “The
Cowboys and Indians did not do it all!” Even if he failed at this he would still be alright, so he
sculpted several pieces and decided he would have to create his own marketing system, because
galleries were not too receptive to the mining scene. Someone suggested he rent a small booth at
the upcoming MineEXPO at the convention center in Las Vegas it was sponsored by the
American Mining Congress in Washington, DC. He did, and that expo generated over $80,000
in orders and commissions for Original Creations. The American Mining Congress also took
Gary under their wing and commissioned him to do work for them. They even invited him back
to their expo with a much bigger booth. He has been with them ever since. It, along with the
company’s clientele, and their website is its major source of marketing.
Over the years, Gary’s sculptures have become so popular that they can be found all
around the globe in; museums, corporate offices, city parks, homes, loges, private collections,
and even the Disneyland Hotel. Gary has been prolific as a sculptor, which is important to those
who invest in his work. Growing older is only an inconvenience but not enough reason to let
him retire completely. However, he thought it was wise to turn the everyday business over to his
granddaughter Patricia and her husband Danny Blanton who have both worked for the business
for some time and have shown an interest in the business. Danny is now the president and a very
skilled artist. This allows Gary the freedom to do his own thing and create new projects.