By Shannon Lukens.
New art has been installed on the lawn next to Bud Werner Memorial Library in Steamboat Springs. Local sculptor Sandy Graves created the art from a painting by Susan Schiesser called, “She Walks on Water.” It is a bear with wings and a crown.
“The bear symbolizes the spirit of the Yampa Valley, and truly the whole valley. Not the people who live here as much as the grass and the birds and the animals and the spirit that draws us all here. It’s about being protected in that space, it’s about the protection of the environment that we love and the respect that we should give it.”
The new art is still being installed with help from Bryan Buikema with C8 Projects, Inc, out of Berthoud, Colo. The company does art fabrication. The bear is cast metal. The base is fabricated metal.
A lighting system is going in at the end of the week that will be motion activated to light up when people approach. The entire project should be finished in a couple of weeks.
You’ll find the new sculpture just uphill from the Yampa River which was once called the Bear River.
Courtesy photo of the sculpture being installed Sunday.
The sculpture was funded by friends of Susan Schiesser. The execution of the project was a collaboration between Undiscovered Earth, the Bud Werner Memorial Library and the City of Steamboat Springs.
Press release from Undiscovered Earth; June 3, 2024.
New Sandy Graves sculpture – inspired by Susan Schiesser – installed at the Bud Werner Memorial Library
Steamboat Springs, CO. Sunday, June 2nd, 2024 a new addition to the downtown public art collection was installed. The piece is a bear with wings and a crown was inspired the painting ‘She Walks on Water’ by artist Susan Schiesser and reimagined by local sculptor, Sandy Graves. The sculpture is located on the lawn adjacent to the Bud Werner Memorial library.
Susan Schiesser was instrumental in shaping the art scene in Steamboat Springs. From opening galleries, to creating her own works of art, she also encouraged more artists than can be counted to believe in themselves and their artwork. She was known for her out of the box ideas, like having a live horse at one of her exhibit openings at Red Gallery in the Sheridan retail spaces. She was fearless and her artwork reflected that sense of fearlessness.
Sandy Graves is a nationally collected sculptor and local Steamboat Springs artist. She first displayed her work at county fairs as a 4-H member.
Approximately four years ago, conversations began with Susan and Sandy to turn one of Susan’s works into a sculpture. Ultimately ‘She Walks on Water’ was chosen because of the ties to Steamboat’s history and heritage. The bear reflects the importance of bears to the Routt County ecosystem and landscape as well as well as a nod the loss of the grizzly bear to Colorado. The sculpture is just uphill from the Yampa River, once called the Bear River. Logan Crawford, son of the first permanent settlers, James and Margaret Crawford once reported encountering five grizzly bears walking from what is today 13th street to the Old Town Hot Springs (Bath Springs at that time).
The sculpture was funded by friends of Susan Schiesser. The execution of the project was a collaboration between Undiscovered Earth, the Bud Werner Memorial Library and the City of Steamboat Springs.
There will be a lighting ceremony for the sculpture in the near future and an invitation will be extended to the community to celebrate one of the most unique pieces of art in the valley.