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In Lincoln, Kevin encountered a community in transition. e
once thriving logging and mining industries that nourished Lincoln
economically had faded way, leaving a community is search of a new
future. It reminded him of the Lough Boora area of his native Ireland
where the centuries-old economic force of peat production was lost
to modern heating technologies. ere, Kevin has been instrumental
in working with communities to create a Sculpture in the Parklands
that honored the area's natural environment,
industrial past, and cultural heritage. Could
something similar happen in Lincoln?
Lincoln certainly had the skilled labor, the
creative minds, and the environmental beauty
to develop something extraordinary. Would
the idea catch the community's desire to invest
heart, body, and mind to make such a dream
come true? at is exactly what happened.
C
ASUAL CONVERSATIONS AMONG ARTISTS SOMETIMES SET IN MOTION
ACTIONS THAT RIPPLE THROUGH COMMUNITIES AND PEOPLE. While
in Seattle in 2010 at an artist-in-residence at the Pratt Fine Art Center, internation-
ally known metalsmith and sculptor, Kevin O'Dwyer, took the bladesmith master class
offered by Rick Dunkerley of Lincoln, MT. e two artists have much in common,
but work with different metals. Rick specializes in steel, Kevin in silver. e
conversation began there.
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LINCOLN
Tyler Nanson talking about his Bat Beacons
Kevin O'Dwyer's Reimagining the
Delany Teepee Burner
at night and
under construction (right).
ROGER DAY, BLACKFOOT VALLEY DISPATCH
ROGER DAY, BLACKFOOT VALLEY DISPATCH
Teepee Burner
at Sculpture Park
www.distinctlymontana.com/sculpture171
DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL
