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Bears debut in Cody
By Anthony McConnell
This document was published online on Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Grizzly bears soon will be taking to the streets of Cody, Powell and Meeteetse.
No, these aren't the furry kind found in the mountains - they are the 25 fiberglass bears created for “A Gathering of Grizzlies,” the fundraiser to benefit the children and youth facilities in Park County's three libraries.
“The completed bears are at the Armory waiting to appear for the first time,” project coordinator Pat Stuart of Powell told Cody Club members Monday.
The public's first opportunity to see the bears will be at 3 p.m. Saturday on the north side of the Park County Complex, the site of the new library.
“This is a great opportunity to see the bears gathered all together,” Park County Library System Director Frances Clymer said.
After the Saturday event the painted grizzlies will be moved to their summer display locations around Park County.
“The majority will be in downtown Cody and four will be on display in Powell,” Clymer told the city council Tuesday night. “It's going to be a full summer of ‘bears on display' in Cody, Powell and Meeteetse.”
“As you're moving around town you'll see these bears and they are really quite wonderful,” Stuart added. “There's a great deal of diversity in the designs and every one is special.”
After Labor Day, 24 bears will be reunited at the Armory for cleaning and buffing in preparation for their final auction that will take place as part of the grand opening of the new library Oct. 4. (One bear will be sold at the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale on Sept. 26.)
The appraised “low end” total value of the 25 bears is $90,000, Clymer said, and their high end value is about double that. For insurance, sale and tax purposes, the bears were appraised by three art experts.
The fundraiser was inspired by similar projects in Billings and Casper.
The original bear was commissioned by the Park County Library Board and designed by Cody sculptor Jeff Rudolph.
“Most of the fiberglass art projects like this are done with generic (shape) animals,” Stuart said. “We wanted something quite different and Jeff created a bear that is anything but generic.”
The bears, all of which are sponsored by local individuals and businesses, started arriving in Cody at the end of January, and that's when the artists went to work.
Twenty-four of the bears were painted and one was covered with a mosaic pattern, which added several hundred pounds to the already heavy bear, Stuart said.
In addition to the big bears, which are about five-feet tall and five-feet wide, 80 smaller nine-inch bears were created. Twenty-five of those small bears went to the artists so they could create a miniature replica for their sponsor.
“The others went to what we call ‘small bear artists,'” Stuart adds. “These will start to appear around town as they are completed. Three are already at banks.”
Those small bears will be sold via silent auction throughout the summer.
“This is a great project,” city council member Nancy Tia Brown said. “This is really going to add to the ambience of downtown.”
For more information visit www.grizgathering.com.
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MB wrote on Jun 23, 2008 9:30 AM: