The Bird Lady Returns: A Legacy in Steel

In the heart of Woodstock, a striking new landmark stands as both a tribute and a transformation, a steel birdcage that captures the soul of Florence Carlyle, one of Canada’s most celebrated painters from the late 1800s. Affectionately known to her family and friends as “Bird,” Florence Carlyle was an esteemed resident of Woodstock and a now-renowned Canadian artist. Her work reflects a keen sensitivity to women’s lives and inner worlds and, viewed through a contemporary lens, her story highlights the impact that one person living truthfully can have within their community and beyond.

More than a century after her brush fell silent, her spirit returns home; reborn in steel, colour, and craftsmanship. BIRD SET FREE was conceived as an artistic expression of freedom, restraint, and release. Designed by Woodstock-based husband-and-wife artist team Duane and Urszula Kumala-Thomas, who raised their family in the very house where Florence Carlyle grew up a century earlier, the sculpture weaves together three symbols: a bird, a birdcage, and a corset.

The cage suggests the social and professional constraints surrounding Carlyle’s life as a woman artist; the corset form tightens those expectations around the body; the bird that rises above a torn-open “skylight” speaks to her determination to live and work beyond them. Curved steel ribs trace the shape of a corset set atop the bird cage, its crown twisted open as a bird rises through the opening. Each bend of tubular steel echoes the soft arcs of her brushstrokes, creating a walk-in interior that invites viewers to stand inside the tension between confinement and liberation: a work meant not only to be seen, but to be experienced. Transforming this concept into a lasting public installation demanded not only creativity, but engineering precision.

The sculpture stands fully exposed to the elements; open to sun, snow, and the whole rhythm of Ontario’s four seasons. The artist’s vision was to create something beautiful and enduring, not fleeting. The piece was created to mark one hundred years since Florence Carlyle’s passing, and the intent is that it should look as lively a hundred years from now as it does today.

That challenge led to the choice of hot-dip galvanizing, a process that offered the only proven path to achieving the project’s two critical goals: permanence and purity of form. Hot-dip galvanizing protects every inch of steel, both inside and out. Unlike paint or powder coatings, which sit on the surface, galvanizing becomes one with the metal through a metallurgical bond of zinc-iron alloys. For a design made entirely from tubular steel, this was crucial. The molten zinc could seep into cavities and seams, sealing off hidden areas that might otherwise trap moisture or air. The process created a complete barrier and sacrificial protection system, meaning the zinc would corrode first, preserving the steel beneath for generations. But longevity was only half the story.

This project also demanded artistry. To echo Carlyle’s creative spirit, the team employed a duplex coating system: a vibrant colour finish layered over the galvanized base. The duplex approach transformed the utilitarian strength of galvanizing into an aesthetic canvas. The zinc beneath anchors the paint chemically, allowing the colours to last two to three times longer than they would on bare steel. It’s a marriage of science and art, one that ensures both protection and beauty in a single system.

The sculpture has a quiet bronze shimmer at first glance, reading almost as a simple cage, but it truly comes to life when someone steps inside and looks up to the sky. From within, the feeling of confinement softens into a sense of openness as bands of colour arc overhead, suggesting that inside each of us is a vivid inner life and a desire to live and be seen as our truest self. The palette expresses the full spectrum of colour in both a symbolic and figurative way; bright bands wrap the form and stand out against the open sky, creating a living surface that shifts with the daylight. The result is a gentle play of reflection and hue that nods to Florence Carlyle’s impressionist influence and painterly style.

Beyond the materials and methods, the sculpture carries profound significance for the community. It reconnects Woodstock to one of its most influential cultural figures, reminding residents of the city’s artistic heritage while anchoring it firmly in the present. The sculpture sits at the edge of a mature neighbourhood just a short walk from Woodstock’s downtown, in a park named after Florence herself. It offers a quiet place for reflection where residents and visitors alike pause to take photographs and learn about the woman who once brought international attention to this small Ontario city.

The use of galvanizing for this project ensures that Florence Carlyle’s story will not fade with time. It’s a nod to durability, not just in metal, but in legacy. Just as she broke barriers in her art, this installation breaks boundaries between creativity and engineering, between the delicate and the indestructible. In steel and zinc, her voice lives on, unweathered, uncorroded, and unforgotten.

The Birdcage Sculpture represents the rebirth of Florence Carlyle’s legacy through modern materials and technique. Designed and fabricated from tubular steel, the structure demanded a protective system that would defend against corrosion from every angle while maintaining a flawless surface for its intricate curves. The artist’s goal was to blend Woodstock’s industrial strength with its creative heritage, crafting a symbol of unity between art and science. The public placement in an open pedestrian zone required a finish capable of enduring continuous exposure without fading, rusting, or requiring maintenance, a challenge met perfectly through hot-dip galvanizing.

Hot-dip galvanizing was selected for its complete coverage and metallurgical bond, which protects both interior and exterior surfaces. For tubular steel, this process is unmatched. The immersion allows zinc to coat deep into hollow sections where condensation could form, providing protection where paint cannot reach.

Galvanizing also created a durable base for the duplex system, ensuring long-term adhesion of the colour layers. The dual system not only achieves superior corrosion resistance but also conveys the project's artistic intention: the zinc’s silvery tone reflects light like a painter’s primer beneath the final colour, enhancing the brightness and depth of the duplex finish.

From a performance standpoint, the galvanized and coated structure will resist corrosion for decades, even under Ontario’s freeze-thaw cycles and de-icing salts. Maintenance costs are nearly eliminated, and the sculpture’s life-cycle cost is significantly lower than that of any alternative coating.

Environmental sustainability was another decisive factor; zinc is 100% recyclable, and the extended lifespan of galvanized steel minimizes waste and carbon output over time. The duplex system further multiplies this efficiency by reducing future re-coating needs, aligning the project with modern green-building principles. 

BIRD SET FREE is fast becoming a visual anchor in Woodstock. The sculpture is installed in the Bruce Flowers Sculpture Garden in Florence Carlyle Park where art, history, and metallurgy meet. The sculpture celebrates Florence Carlyle’s creative courage and ensures that her story, like the galvanized steel that carries it, will endure for generations. Galvanizing was not just a practical solution; it was the only one capable of preserving both the physical structure and the emotional essence of the project. Through its strength, beauty, and sustainability, the sculpture stands as proof that the fusion of hot-dip galvanizing and artistic vision can create something truly timeless; art that will never rust, and a legacy that will never fade.