Pieces selected for six-month cycle of Sandpoint’s ‘Silver Box’ art-on-loan program

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Select Sandpoint street corners will be home to new sculptures in the city’s Silver Box public art-on-loan program, after council members approved a trio of entries at their regular Nov. 6 meeting.

Now in its seventh year, the public art project invites creators to submit their works for consideration by the Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation Commission, which provides three recommendations for approval to the City Council.

Following adoption, the winning pieces are installed at specially built decorative pedestals located at the the corner of Fifth Avenue and Oak Street, Fourth and Oak and Fourth and Church Street.

While in the past the program featured art on a year-long basis and solicited in a nationwide call, this time around the city opted to focus on local submissions and introduce a six-month cycle from fall to spring, after which it will revert to the previous yearly schedule.

“It was a quick call — we did it in about two weeks,” said Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation Officer Heather Upton.

Even with that swift turnaround, three artists submitted pieces for consideration.

The council unanimously approved all three, which included entries from Bonners Ferry artist Anna Lee Harris, as well as Dave Gonzo and Denny Henson, both of Sandpoint.

Each artist will receive a $500 honorarium — reimbursed to the city from the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency — and if any pieces are sold during their period of exhibition, the city would receive 10% of the proceeds.

Harris’ sculpture measures 48 inches by 20 inches by 20 inches and is fabricated of powder-coated iron and granite titled “Proud Fillies.” The piece depicts a pair of bald eagles in contest atop a spiraling frame of green-painted metal, rising above the outlines of trees with a core of granite pieces evoking the roots of a mountain.

Gonzo’s work — “Living in Color” — is still in the process of completion, but will represent a monstera plant constructed from steel and flame painted copper measuring 36 inches by 36 inches by 24 inches. The final piece will then be clear coated for protection from the elements.  

Both Harris and Gonzo were selected artists for the previous round of Silver Box sculptures, with Harris’ “At Rivers Edge” installed at Fifth and Oak and Gonzo’s “The Spirit Tree” at Fourth and Oak.

Upton said the city was pleased to see both artists back in the program, as well as welcome local wood carver Henson and his piece “Quiet Descent,” which depicts a mountain lion making its way down an elevated landscape feature. 

Carved in western red cedar and measuring three feet by four feet by 18 inches, the sculpture will be finished and colored using transparent stains and acrylic paint, as well as employ shading using a torch. It will then be sealed to protect it from weather and ultraviolet rays.

“He does this beautiful torch technique that blackens some of the portions of the wood. It’s really exciting to see this medium put forth,” Upton said.

With a proposed installation date of Friday, Nov. 22, “Proud Fillies” is slated for Fourth and Church, “Living in Color” will be located at Fifth and Oak and “Quiet Descent” will call Fourth and Oak home until the next cycle of submissions.

“It’s just a great way to recognize our art community, celebrate them and get the word out,” Upton said.

Meanwhile, the sculpture “Natural Wavelength,” which was featured in the most recent round of the Silver Box Program, has been donated to the city by Cincinnati-based artist Ursula Roma and will be installed at a to-be-determined location.

“It’s just another way that this program has been very fruitful for our community,” Upton said.