The fourth artist to face the crowd of about 200 people at the Tennyson Sculpture Garden ribbon-cutting ceremony on Lewis Street, last Saturday, was perhaps, to the audience, the most familiar of the seven sculptors currently showing work in the new park.
Chad Haspels has been creating carved wooden sculptural pieces for various Pagosa locations for at least 20 years, maybe longer? Many of his most public pieces are carved from standing trees still rooted in place.
He addressed the crowd:
“When Evelyn first discussed the intent of the park with me, as everyone has spoken about so gracefully, I wanted to create a piece that represented that grace and that gracefulness.
“The heron sculpture is created from local ponderosa pine. It’s from our San Juan mountains, here. For me, that’s something I like to do, because it provides a sense of place, and that sense of place gives it a warmth and softness.
“The inspiration for the composition is from the river. I’ve always been inspired by the metaphorical and symbolic aspects of rivers, and we can all certainly connect to that… ”
“Those of you who appreciate being outdoors in Pagosa, will see herons all along the river. Their smoothness in flight, the impeccable patience that they display when they’re sitting on the shore… we’ve all seen that…”
Mr. Haspels had previously created a pair of crows, carved out of wood, to sit outside the Two Old Crows gallery across the street, and Ms. Tennyson had them cast in bronze and moved to the park, to sit on a boulder near the heron sculpture.
“One thing I can say about crows. They are very much ‘in the moment’… And I don’t think you can walk into a park like this one, without finding yourself ‘in the moment’…
“My congratulations to you, Evelyn, for seeing your project through to completion, and I’m honored to be part of it.”
Mr. Haspels was followed by Donna Merchant-Crooks, one of the two female sculptors represented in the park. (The other female artist, Toni Martin, created ‘Metamorphosis’ — the colorful tree of butterflies at the north end of the park — but was not able to attend the dedication…)
“I want to thank Evelyn for the vision that she had, in creating this place. This seed was born out of a broken heart, and look at what it has become. A place to come and sit, and reflect, and remember those who have gone before us — and as a result, remember who we are.
“My piece is the woman. over here, sitting on the bench, holding the glove, called ‘We Still Share the Sunset’. My partner passed away five and a half years ago. I’m sure many of you have experienced those kinds of losses. And there’s always the jacket, hanging on the back of the door, or the coffee cup… or some other form of paraphernalia… that you hold, and remember. In this case, I’m holding a glove.
“We used to sit on the back porch every evening and watch the sky change as the sun set, and remember the day, and reflect on things.
“I still do that, to this day. Those memories live on, like this park will live on… to help us remember those who were important in our lives…”
(After all the speeches concluded, I had a chance to photograph Donna’s daughter and granddaughters, sitting on the bench next to Donna’s memorial sculpture.)
Following Donna’s speech, the project’s general contractor, Andre Redstone and his wife Debra stepped up to the microphone. Mr. Redstone began with a brief welcome in the Navajo language, and then in Spanish. And then in English:
“Good morning to you, our relatives.
“So what do we say? I was thinking about this morning, and those of you who know me, know I talk a lot. So I have to back up, and say good morning to our honored guests, Madame Mayor, Madame Commissioner, Mr. Commissioner, relatives and friends…”
Andre told a brief story about “this very pleasant lady” who came into an Historic Preservation Board meeting to talk about fencing — back when Pagosa had an Historic Preservation Board, and when Mr. Redstone was chair of that board. The meeting happened shortly after the historic Adobe Building burned, and a hazardous skeleton of a building waited to be demolished.
“I couldn’t fathom what could replace what had been here, that could replace the impact of what had been here for so long. But I hadn’t met Evelyn yet, and we hadn’t had the discussion yet about the fence. Because that’s where it started, for us…”
“But here we are today. And I’d like to say thank you to the people who were integral, in making this come to fruition… Yes, Evelyn is magnificent, and she wrote the checks without question. But the men and women who were part of the things you can’t see, that infusion of their energy and their sweat and tears, is also here…”
The list on display at the park credits the following people:
- Alterview Landscape Architecture
- Chris Rapp Landscaping
- Davis Engineering
- Hutch & Sons Construction
- America West Fabricators
- Mastercraft Concrete
- CT Electirc
- JS Asphalt
- Axxis Audio
- Ponce Masonry
- Redstones Timber Frames Inc.
Andre extended the thanks to a few other people: to David Schanzenbaker and David Richter with ‘Wood & Clay’, to Apex Engineering, and…
“… to my wife, who stands by me through my episodic fits of stress. Because my job is to make Evelyn happy; to make my client happy.
“So today, we stand before you to recognize the contribution of someone I hold as a wonderful client, but also, that I hold in my heart as a friend…”
Mr. Redstone referenced the symbol of the Ram, etched on the face of Ross Barrable’s titanium gong sculpture — a confusing symbol provided to Andre, as a photograph of a ram tattooed on a person’s arm. A confounding photo, that finally made sense when Andre learned the arm belonged to Mike Tennyson, Evelyn’s late husband…