Distinctly Montana Magazine

DISTINCTLY MONTANA MAGAZINE • WINTER 2022-23 14 Like all Montanans, he has his own version of the Montana dream, a subvariant of the American dream: "For me, the dream of Montana is to find a way to follow the path that links the skills and passions of making a living while learning and interacting with the abundance of nature that surrounds us, while at the same time making a lasting contribution to the community and highlighting its strengths." The community is at the heart of his work. His sculptures and signs are designed for the enjoyment of members of the public, not just for the rarified world of private collectors and museums. They are there to be looked at and shared. That aspect informs both branches of his work. He enjoys them both, and they offer distinct challenges. With signs, he says, there are "an incredible amount of lit- tle details, wiring, neon, engineering to mount over the public right of way, painting permitting, navigating the city planning department, accuracy of historical records and photographs, and of course the demands and timeline of the customer. Sculp- tures have a few of the same demands but are much more focused on the content, form, and execution of my building technique." Both are satisfying, he says, but in either case, what drives him is that the work has "a community and cultural com- ponent." It's a principle he shares with his friends Trecie Wheat- Hughes and Jackie Wickens of Yellowstone Brokers. They exemplify, he says, being "in tune with the community," not to mention "the ever changing ups and downs of the real estate market... I would say that both Jackie and Trecie have incredible energy, are very devoted to their customers and strive to carry out their transactions in the most pro- fessional and honest fashion possible. Both have wonderful people skills, are excellent listeners and overall do a stellar job as real estate brokers." And he ought to know, since he's worked with the Yellow- stone Brokers to buy and sell two properties recently. But it's not all business; Ole is proud to say he's known Jackie and her husband Jason for over a decade—as a matter of fact, Jason is his business partner in "Live From the Divide," which brings an eclec- tic variety of songwriters to an intimate and rustic venue with a hundred-year-old stage, and introduces national and local artists to the community. There's that word again: community. We had to ask about his name as an afterthought. What's the story with "Ole?" How's that pronounced? "Ole is pronounced O-Lee, and it relates to Norwegian jokes," he told us. Apparently, he was so well known for telling Norwegian jokes while at Montana State University that his friends started calling him Ole after the old Scandinavian "Ole and Lena" jokes. The name has stuck. Erik Nelson is Ole to his friends. If you're a member of the Montana community, that makes you a friend. So please, call him Ole. "I WOULD SAY THAT BOTH JACKIE AND TRECIE HAVE INCREDIBLE ENERGY, ARE VERY DEVOTED TO THEIR CUSTOMERS AND STRIVE TO CARRY OUT THEIR TRANSACTIONS IN THE MOST PROFESSIONAL AND HONEST FASHION POSSIBLE."

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