Artists Build Wild Art Park
The Daily News, Longview, Washington

By Cathy Zimmerman 
May 01, 2005

TENINO -- What a surprise it is, in this flung-out valley of south Puget Sound's speedways and old railroad towns, to find a wild, outdoor art gallery.

Myrna Orsini and Doris Coonrod have brought forth Monarch Sculpture Park from 80 acres of land east of Tenino. Amid twisting paths, wooded copses and creek-side nooks, the artists have planted up to 100 fabricated steel statues, stone sculptures and wood carvings.

The park, free and open to the public, was a dream of Orsini's which Coonrod helped her realize.

"She overheard me talking about it," said Orsini, a University of Puget Sound graduate who previously owned an art gallery in Lakewood and has studied carving in British Columbia and Italy.

Coonrod, a wood carver who grew up in Texas and worked as a federal court judge, was intrigued by Orsini's idea of a sculpture garden and artists' working retreat.

"She said, 'I'll match you dollar for dollar. Let's go for it.' "

That was 1992. "We looked in four different counties," said Orsini, and purchased land with a small lake and mountain views in '94. "We filed for nonprofit status," and in '96 bought extra acreage bordering the first parcel. The park opened in 1998.

Coonrod did more than help finance the dream.

She matched Orsini shovel for shovel, rake for rake. Together they planned, planted, dug, weeded, and installed art works on the property, which slopes down a hill from a large house-turned-gallery and studios to encircle a pond and stretch into woods and a meadow.

With only an occasional work party, the two women have placed huge works done by visiting artists, both fledgling and professional.

Orsini designed a butterfly hedge maze that covers two-thirds of an acre, a low-lying labyrinth that leads to the golden "Butterfly Girl" sculpture.

Why the butterflies?

They're the perfect symbol for artists, said Orsini, who came by her carving talent thanks to her father and grandfather, wood carvers from Varenna, Italy.

She and Coonrod offer residencies to sculptors and some have come from Ohio, Lithuania, Switzerland and New Zealand. Visiting artists get room and board, with work space and a stipend of $2,500 for professionals and $500 for "emerging" artists.

Orsini is reshaping the residencies to include some tradeouts in work, she said last week.

Those who are paid leave works that become permanent, she said. Other artists may place works in the garden that are for sale on a commission basis, with the park taking 25 percent.

Orsini is now 62; Coonrod is 75 and suffering from Alzheimer's. They still work hard, side by side.

"We just keep doing it," Orsini said. "It gets really frustrating in the winter. But Doris loves working in her flower beds."

Trees and climbers and hedges tumble around art here, in a merger that's odd, funny, frazzled, dazzling.

Butterflies and Asian art make up its random themes, but there are lots of modern works, playful interactive pieces for children, and a smattering of tasteful erotica. (Works are numbered and a pamphlet with a key to titles and artists is available as you enter.)

One of the first sculptures on the switchback path leading down into the gardens
is a metal work by LeeAnn Powers. In "68 Buick," half of a guy in jeans -- waist down -- leans against a car door.

From this spot, visitors can scan the near-in gardens, which include a man-made mini-forest of about 30 fanciful birdhouses on poles, an airy shelter made entirely of twigs, pergolas, Japanese bronze bells and sections of fence with sculptural works mounted on them.

Just below the house is a stage and a few bleachers. Orsini said musical events
are held there and groups who rent the space for weddings or other events find it handy.

In front of the performance space stand "The Three Graces," Orsini's metal-and-cement trio of 20-foot high, ivory-colored, abstract figures. Nearby is "Tesla," a DaVinci-looking wood creation, painted bright white, by Tom Yody. The work honors 19-century Serbian scientist Nikola Tesla.

Beyond the performance space and the three graces, "International Alley," an avenue of flags, leads to other works and the maze.

Off to the right are woods, where a variety of totems hide among the alders and a sound garden invites kids of all ages to play hanging steel rods with a ball peen hammer or set a gong reverberating.

In a blanket of wildflowers, a voluptuous steel nude reclines.

Here and there are wonderful steel characters and a marble whale.

Stroll down the avenue of flags to the creek, and don't miss the green glass shards poked into the creek bank on the left. The shards, by Irish artist Brian Kennedy, are called "Future Past."

Strung between two alders, one on each side of the creek, is "Together," rows and rows of sisal that circle and link the tree trunks.

One of the most stunning works in the Monarch Park is Orsini's "Pick-Up Sticks."

In the 22-foot work, a black steel hand reaches up from the ground, holding primary-colored sticks to the sky. Be sure to notice the faces near the top of each pick-up stick.

A round oak construction you can walk in and out of, "The Shadow Ring" by California carver Pat Warner has the feel of a Celtic forest shrine.

Up near the house is a circular bed of works around a modern wood installation painted black. The steel sculpture here of three life-sized youths on a bike, "Kern Street Circus," by LeeAnn Powers, incorporates the actual bicycle Powers used to ride in Ohio.

And do not miss "Sphere," which is off by itself on the other side of Waldrick Road.

The work, a ball 12 feet in diameter made of hickory and hazelnut wood, is by Urs Twellman of Switzerland, Orsini said.

"He used only downed wood -- he won't cut anything," she said.

Twellman works with found objects in nature, including snow, leaves and rocks, she said. "He'll go out and find something in nature and use it to create a temporary installation."

The Swiss artist is now on a two-year sabbatical, she said, creating art all over the globe and leaving it for people to discover.

"It's a different way to visualize and incorporate natural materials. It's incredible," said Orsini.

Taking a breather among this gathering of works fashioned by nature and people, she could be talking about her own Monarch Park.

If You Go:

The Monarch Sculpture Park is open daily from dawn to dusk. Admission is free; donations are welcome. Tour groups are expected to leave a donation.