POULSBO — Silverdale artist Lisa Stirrett has something in store for Muriel Iverson Williams Waterfront Park: Three steel and glass swords embedded in a rock. She calls it “The Guardian Stone.”

It’s an art installation and Poulsbo’s newest tribute to its Norwegian and nautical heritage.

“We want it to be a beacon for the marina,” Stirrett said.

The Historic Downtown Poulsbo Association commissioned the art installation.

The goal is to have the “Guardian Stone” finished by the end of January and then unveiled to the public during the Winter Rendezvous in February, according to Brooke Dalton, an association board member.

Dalton, who owns Liberty Bay Gallery, actually came up with the idea when she and other members of the association decided to add more art to the area.

“Basically, we really wanted to do a large art installation downtown,” Dalton said.

They wanted something that added to the the vibe of downtown, but wasn’t another mural. The swords — based on a similar installation in Norway — fit the bill.

“It kinda helps in with their Little Norway theme,” Dalton said. “It keeps us out there in the art community.”

The association is footing the bill for the “Guardian Stone” with membership dues. They put out a request for a sword installation to several artists, ultimately choosing Stirrett’s concept.

“We proposed what we thought would be cool there,” Stirrett said.

Dalton thinks the installation will draw people to the park to take a photo.

“It’s going to be absolutely beautiful and really quite and enhancement to the green down there,” Dalton said.

She hopes people visiting the park for the statue will make time to shop in Little Norway.

The swords will be 6 feet, 5 feet and 4 feet long and made from a corrosion resistant steel called CorTen. From the bottom of the rock to the top of the tallest sword is 9 feet high.

“They’ll be very tall,” Stirrett said. “And they’re really beefy.”

The “Guardian Stone” is inspired by the “Swords of the Rock,” a trio of 33-foot swords on the southern coast of Norway. The monument was created by Fritz Røed and unveiled in 1983 by Norway’s King Olav V. They commemorate the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872 when King Harald Fairhair unified Norway under one crown.

Unlike their Norwegian counterparts, the center of the “Guardian Stone” swords will be filled with colored glass.

“We want them to glow in the sun,” Stirrett said. “We want it to be a beacon for the marina.”

The color of the glass is to be determined.

To account for potential damage from vandals or kids reenacting “The Sword and the Stone,” Stirrett incorporated a few contingencies into the design.

The handles will have removable parts so broken glass can be replaced, and the three swords will be connected by a triangle of steel to create more structural integrity.

The swords will also have some ancient Norwegian designs along the blades that might not be visible from a distance.

“The hope is to have petroglyphs on the swords,” Stirrett said.