Sculptor hopes to evoke joy with BearFest statue

What's the recipe for sculpting a bear? Add one part encouragement, one part planning, two parts materials, one part inspiration, ruminate for two years, then take three months to cut away everything that doesn't look like a bear.

This year's BearFest statue, entitled "Honeysuckle," was created by Anne Luetkemeyer, an artist who leaned on her industrial background to carve the piece.

Two years ago, Sylvia Ettefagh, chairperson of BearFest, asked Luetkemeyer if she would create a bear statue for the annual event. Luetkemeyer agreed and began looking for welding equipment with the thought she'd create a metal sculpture. She decided that wasn't feasible and switched to wood.

Luetkemeyer started researching carved bears for inspiration, but it wasn't until she and her husband went to a wood-carving contest in Campbell River, British Columbia, that she knew she wanted to use wood and a chainsaw. She did some more research online and was further inspired by a group of Inuit sculptors who did small dancing bears from soapstone, ivory, jade and other mediums.

But she wanted the work to be specifically for Wrangell.

"We're really close to nature here," Luetkemeyer said. "What do I want to make for Wrangell? That blending of the natural world and the human world really appealed to me. It gave me the inspiration to move forward."

She built a shed to house the project to keep the wood dry. She obtained a cedar log approximately 2 feet in diameter by 11 feet long. She went to work in earnest a little more than three months ago.

"I did an 11-inch clay model first. Thank goodness I did the model first. I would have been lost," Luetkemeyer said. "It gave me a sense of where I could start carving blocks, where the mass and crotch and down to the feet would be."

As she used a chainsaw to carve away the non-bear bits, Luetkemeyer said Honeysuckle began to take shape. Like any artist, she was conflicted with the direction she was taking and had to take a step back in the process.

"The most challenging part for me as an artist was whether or not I wanted it to be realistic or abstract," she said. "I often go between those two. She was becoming too realistic. I really tried to start making her more geometric. The vision is up in your head, but you don't see what you're working on."

Luetkemeyer knew she was realizing her vision when she stuck to more angular design. She also used her welding background to create the bear's paws and claws, footprints and fish at the base from diamond-pattern metal plates.

She was inspired to be an artist at an early age, seeing the work of American sculptor Alexander Calder on display on a trip to Chicago. Though she went to school in Iowa for welding and became a boilermaker for the Alaska Railroad, she always had aspirations of being an artist, sculpting since high school. She began taking art classes in earnest after getting pregnant, and that took her on a different career path.

After to moving to Wrangell in 2005, Luetkemeyer went to work as a teacher at the high school, teaching whatever classes were needed. She eventually made her way to the art class after long-time teacher Kirk Garbisch retired. Luetkemeyer retired in 2018, still focusing on her art.

One of the aspects she wanted to display with Honeysuckle was a sense of joy, which is why she has the bear lifting her arms to the sky.

"It's amazing. It's so beautiful. I love how the arms are open. I can just feel Anne (in this piece)," said Cyni Crary, director of the Nolan Center, where the statue is currently on display. "We're so lucky that BearFest uses our site for these statues."

Luetkemeyer was also appreciative that Ettefagh asked her to create the artwork.

"It's unique to me that (Sylvia) expected me to do it, and I've probably had many more people in my life expect me not to make sculpture because of my industrial background," Luetkemeyer said. "In fact, I've had people say, 'You cannot make sculpture. You're a welder. This is not part of your job training.' For (Sylvia's) expectation, I'm appreciative because it launched me."

It's Luetkemeyer's hope that people who view Honeysuckle find joy in it.

"I think the last couple years we've been through hard, hard times," she said. "I wanted the bear to express Wrangell's resilience. I hope you dance when you have the chance."