Dennis Bialek

Dennis Bialek, 66, has created an 11-foot-tall ice cream cone for the Tossed and Found sculpture exhibition and auction, which will start later this month in Stamford.More than 40 sculptors, some of them world renowned and prominent in their craft, will display their work, Bialek said. Fifty percent of the proceeds from the auction will go to the artist, with leading autism advocacy organization Autism Speaks and the city taking in 25 percent apiece.A location for the ice cream cone's display has yet to be determined, though it will be somewhere in downtown Stamford.The cone is made of copper, with the outside covered with copper sheets bought at Tri-State Metals LLC in Elmsford, N.Y. For the two scoops, or in this case halves laid on top of one another, Bialek used what many might consider garbage.
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Bialek said he started focusing on art after he retired from Ansonia Copper and Brass four years ago. "I handled copper and brass all my life," Bialek said.He met fellow sculptor Jon Westberg at an art show in Southbury last year and Westberg told him about the event.The sponsors called in the early spring and asked Bialek if he wanted to make something for the exhibit, he said."(The event is) wonderful and it feels wonderful to do something for the kids that have autism," Bialek said.Bialek said that he worked on the project on and off for about a month.The scoops are sprayed in candy teal and candy blue, with Plainville-based Precision Powder Coating LLC doing the work.In order to spray the copper, it was first magnetized, Bialek said.Powder was then sprayed on the metal.After the spraying, the scoops were baked in a furnace."That'll last 20-something years," Bialek said of the finish.Bialek said he heard that more than 300,000 people are expected to view the sculptures."I'm very lucky to be involved in this," Bialek said."I've been real happy to do this."Bialek also displays and sells his art at local shows and is a member of the Artwell Gallery on Water Street in Torrington.Bialek has made many other sculptures, including birds that have marbles and glass for eyes, rocks for heads and torsos and copper for arms and legs. He will be driving the sculpture, in three pieces, to Stamford this morning.