The 34-stone construction is made from stream-worn “pillow” basalt boulders gathered from a gravel bank along the Santiam River in Mill City, Oregon and 70 year-old hand split, cast-offs collected from an abandoned granite quarry in Haines, Oregon. The stones are held in place by gravity and friction aided by stainless steel pins for lateral strength. The total weight of the piece is 15 tons, the largest stone weighing 4 tons. The piece covers a 10’x30’ area and is 6’ tall at it’s highest point.

Sculpture, StoneDan SnowSeptember 2, 2012basalt, bend, cocc, featured, granite, oregon, sculpture, stone, tarriance, the tarriance

The Tarriance Sculpture - Setting a Stone Boulder

I’m delighted by this new-found perspective which has been amplified this past week by my being in Bend, Oregon. The city of 80,000 has doubled its population in the past 20 years. The increase is due in large measure by the influx of people like Jeff Fairfield and his wife Samantha. Both Maine natives, they moved to the Bend area 6 years ago to begin their careers building dry stone walls and teaching horseback riding. Jeff’s joining me on the Tarriance at COCC this week got the project off to a great start. After taking delivery on 15 tons of stone we made full-scale, foam board, mock-ups of the individual pieces. With them I could quickly try out different granite slab and basalt boulder arrangements.

The Tarriance

I’m pleased to announce that my competition proposal to create a sculpture on the grounds of Central Oregon Community Collegehas been selected by the Art Acquisitions Committee. The 201-acre Bend campus, with views of the beautiful Cascade mountains, has been growing since the 1960’s. Over 18,000 students are enrolled at COCC this academic year. This is my first stone art commission west of the Rockies. I’m very excited to be creating a piece in, of and for the great Northwest.