Sterling, CO

Sterling Saves its Tree Sculptures

The striking sculptures carved from dying trees that once graced Sterling, Colo., have decayed, but the community that calls itself the City of Living Trees is determined to bring them back.

Residents of Sterling (pop. 11,360) watched with fascination for 10 years as sculptor Brad Rhea changed the landscape of this agricultural community on Colorado’s northeastern plains. A diseased tree in front of the Burger King became a whimsical depiction of the hamburger chain’s characters. A farmer’s 100-year-old tree became an intricate multi-faceted sculpture of the lion, bull, and other creatures described in Revelation 4:6. A dying elm in Columbine Park was transformed into a circle of giraffes, their necks stretching toward the heavens.

“I wanted to sculpt in marble, but I couldn’t afford it,” Rhea says. “I noticed all these trees tagged to be removed, so I asked the city about them.

“Sterling was great,” he says. “They started watching me work on these pieces. Their excitement got me excited.”

Sadly, after 20 years, the trees began to decay. Toppling sculptures were removed from sites in front of businesses and private homes. Two sculptures—Seraphim (the biblically inspired work described above) and Wind Lace, a salute to pioneer women—reside in the Sterling Public Library.

Most are in a warehouse downtown, awaiting restoration by the Sculpture Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has raised funds since 1982 for the restoration of Rhea’s works.

Bill Wilson, founder and president, spearheaded efforts to treat the sculptures with linseed and tung oil when the trees first began to rot. Other treatments, such as digging out the rotten wood and filling the hollowed sculptures with canned foam, also failed to preserve them. At last, the answer became clear: bronze.

Thanks to Rhea’s supporters, whom he affectionately calls “the tree people,” the giraffe sculpture Skygrazers was bronzed last August and returned to its home in the park.

“I can’t thank the community enough,” Rhea says. “The community came together to create the bronze. They raised the money, and it was a lot of money.”

David McClain, publisher of the local newspaper, The Journal-Advocate, says $30,000 was raised.

“It is the largest and most striking carving,” McClain says. “It’s also been a major tourist draw. I particularly like the sculpture’s three-dimensional aspect. When you touch it, you feel it and hold it, it has a message.” Interestingly, McClain says the “living trees” designation comes from a tree-planting program, but Rhea’s sculptures enhance that nickname.

Wilson says people come from all over the world to see Rhea’s work.

“I think that he’s the Michelangelo of the Plains,’’ he says.

Once bronzed, most of the sculptures will be returned to their original sites, but others will find new locations, he says. The next tree to be bronzed will be Metamorphosis, which depicts the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly. It is currently in a foundry in Denver.

Rhea doesn’t carve trees anymore, but acknowledges the role they served as a steppingstone to his medium of choice: marble. His latest work, titled Exordium, is a 10.5-foot smooth white marvel. The work shows seven angels, each holding a trumpet—images inspired by Revelation 8:6.

Art is a spiritual endeavor for Rhea, whose goal is to create works that serve a meaningful purpose and glorify God.

He accomplished both in 1993 when he created an elaborate walking staff for President Bill Clinton to present to Pope John Paul II during his visit to Denver. Carved out of aged honey locust, the massive staff depicts the crucifixion of Christ on one side and his resurrection in winged glory on the other.

“I’m pretty certain I won’t create any masterpieces, but I hope they will find some purpose.”

In Sterling, that purpose is already clear.

http://thesculptor.net/

Mary Angell is a freelance writer in Cheyenne, Wyo.

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