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He was sliced, stolen and submerged, only to turn up soggy – and footless. Dennis the Menace has gone through the wringer these past few months, getting a taste of his own devilment. And then some.
But after a series of bad breaks, the bronze rascal is back on his feet – both of them – thanks to a local metal fabrication shop conveniently fit for bringing Dennis back to his full mischievous glory.
Eric and Stacey Johnson are the owners and operators of Pacific Metalcraft, a small operation based out of Monterey that specializes in metalwork, unique furniture design, sculpture and sculpture restoration. Last month, the artistic team helped repair El Estero Park’s beloved Dennis the Menace statue, that was cut and stolen in August but found at the bottom of Roberts Lake in Seaside in February.
Based on the Peninsula for the past 17 years, the pair know the life-sized rendering of Hank Ketcham’s cartoon creation well. So when the city of Monterey needed help welding Dennis back together, the Johnsons offered their time and materials.
“I mean, the fun part is that we were able to be a part of this really beloved sculpture,” said Stacey Johnson.
“We were kind of adopted by Monterey,” Eric Johnson added. “It feels good to be able to help when I can because it’s just, I don’t know, it’s just such a great place.”
The Johnsons moved to Monterey in 2005. After coming to the area for a sculpting internship, they decided to stay and not look back. A year after, Dennis the Menace was stolen for the first time.
In October 2006, the statue – erected some 18 years earlier – was unbolted and removed from its perch at El Estero’s Dennis the Menace Playground. At the time, city officials offered a cash reward for any insight on where Dennis went but didn’t turn up any leads.
Five months after Dennis disappeared, the city commissioned a replacement for the playground, cast from a mold of the previous statue. Then, it was the Marina-based Monterey Sculpture Center that fashioned a substitute. But with the center since closed, finding someone to restore Dennis this time around was a tricky feat.
The Johnsons were an unsuspecting local luxury in the way of sculpture repair.
“We were encouraged (by some friends) to take on the project because there’s no else on the Peninsula that really does this sort of thing anymore,” Stacey Johnson said.
Usually, repairing a piece like Dennis the Menace takes expertise from a foundry, a metal casting facility, that specializes in bronze work.
For years, the go-to statue repair spot on the Central Coast was the Monterey Sculpture Center. But in 2019, after 40 years on the Peninsula, the facility closed its doors for good. In turn, sculpture services were moved to the American Fine Art Foundry in Burbank.
Today, a handful of metal casting foundries scatter the state. Those dealing in bronze are located in Berkeley, Sacramento, Paso Robles, Oxnard, Glendale and San Diego.
“It’s definitely a dying art,” Eric Johnson said. “You can take classes in trade school to weld but you’re going to be doing a lot of railings, which is fine – that’s what people need. Some of the bigger places around here have construction stuff and you can do that if you like.”
“But you never wanted to be a welder,” Stacey Johnson cut in, turning to her business partner.
Welding structures like a hand railing or window frame is a different craft than the fine-turned welding required for casting and fixing fine art, the Johnsons explained.
