Sisters sculptor bears monumental task

Sculptor Dayton Lanphear has big plans for a big log.

Containing enough board feet to build a three-bedroom house, the log could also produce more than 1,700 square feet of redwood decking or 50 million toothpicks.

Or one really large bear. To no one's surprise, Lanphear is about to embark on the creation of the last of these options.

Six years ago Lanphear was commissioned by an Alaskan shipping magnate to sculpt a nine-foot-tall Alaskan brown bear that sold for $30,000. To the delight of local art patrons, that bear was displayed in Sisters at Soda Creek Gallery for several weeks before it was shipped off to its permanent home in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

Since that time, the artist has created countless pieces, but his mind kept drifting back to that bear. So, when the right log came available, Lanphear knew what he had to do. The bear he's planning now will dwarf his previous creation, topping out at nearly 15 feet.

"I'm having the time of my life planning this," Lanphear said from his Sisters area studio. "All artists reach a point in their lives where they want to tackle a really big project."

And this is a really big project.

His last giant bear was so well received in Sisters that, this time, he wants to make a public event out of it and share the creative process with the entire community

"I'm going to carve this bear right along the highway, and I hope people will come to watch."

He's timed the launch of his project to coincide with spring break, in the hope of attracting attention from the expected increase in traffic. In fact, the mammoth redwood log is already set up and ready for him to begin work this Saturday, March 22, right beside Highway 126, just east of Fryrear Road on the way to Redmond. The site, which has long been home to Dry Canyon Lumber, now includes the new Dry Canyon Gallery.

If you're planning to travel during spring break, don't worry that you'll miss the show. The bear will take many months to complete. Dry Canyon Gallery will also offer more portable - and affordable - examples of Lanphear's work, along with that of other artists. His work may also be seen at Soda Creek Gallery in Sisters and at Aspen Lakes Lodge.

The first wood chips that fly from the log will be from a chainsaw, but Lanphear emphasizes that he is not a chainsaw carver.

"I don't like to be compared to chainsaw carvers; I'm a sculptor. I want realism and detail that can't be achieved with just a chainsaw."

After his chainsaw has carved out a rough form, much of the detail work will be done with pneumatic power tools that Boeing developed for use in the aircraft industry.

"Probably a lot of the tools I use would never be found in any other artist's studio," Lanphear said.

All of Lanphear's art has a single focus: "I'm obsessed with nature and wildlife. My love for the natural world often takes me afield, where much of my inspiration is derived. I have a lot of hours in those mountains up there."

Lanphear has been carving for nearly 30 years. He moved to Sisters from Vermont in 1978. His current bear project is not a commissioned work, so he's on his own unless a buyer steps forward. Still, he wants to do it for the sheer love of the work and to share the artistic process with the community. He also plans to ask the students at Sisters Elementary School to give the bear a name.

The gigantic bear already exists in Lanphear's mind. "He's on a river bank, at water's edge, munching on a salmon; and, now, he's feeling a territorial threat, and he stands to face it. So, there will be a lot of busyness about this creature that will make him look powerful."

The artist has a Web site, daytonlanphear.com, where his story and examples of his work can be seen. He also set up a blog to chronicle the bear's progress. Visit the blog at http://blog.daytonlanphear.com.