POULSBO — It was supposed to rain on Feb. 20. But on a day such as this, Thor might have felt compelled to hold back the precipitation.
Artist Lisa Stirrett unveiled her latest public artwork, “The Guardian Stone,” at Muriel Iverson Williams Waterfront Park.
“The Guardian Stone” is inspired by the “Swords of the Rock,” a 33-foot sculpture on the southern coast of Norway that commemorates the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872, when King Harald Fairhair united Norway under one crown.
The Historic Downtown Poulsbo Association, which commissioned Stirrett’s work, joined Mayor Becky Erickson and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department in unveiling the installation: three steel-and-glass swords, 6 feet, 5 feet and 4 feet tall, embedded in rock.
From the bottom of the rock to the top of the tallest sword, the installation is 9 feet high.
Brooke Dalton, an association board member and owner of Liberty Bay Gallery, had predicted, “It’s going to be absolutely beautiful and really quite an enhancement to the green down there.”
After the work was unveiled, Erickson said admiringly, “It’s beautiful … It’s just amazing. I don’t see how anybody would not like this. It’s Poulsbo — in culture and in heritage.”
The swords in “The Guardian Stone” are made from corrosion-resistant CorTen steel. “It took days to patina the steel,” Stirrett said. Because of the nature of CorTen, it won’t rust any further.
Unlike their Norwegian counterparts, the center of Stirrett’s swords are filled with colored glass.
She said her biggest challenge was to incorporate the glass and steel mediums together.
“We want them to glow in the sun,” Stirrett said earlier. “We want it to be a beacon for the marina.”
Along the blades of the swords are depictions of Norwegian petroglyphs dating 3,000 years; the images encourage the viewer to get up close and interact with the art.
“We want it to be durable. They are supposed to be something to be around and climb around,” she said.
As Stirrett explained this, two young children climbed the rock and started playing with the swords — furthering her point.
However, to account for any potential damage, Stirrett incorporated a few contingencies into the design.
The handles have removable parts so broken glass can be replaced, and the three swords are connected by a triangle of steel to create more structural integrity.
The swords themselves are attached to rebar that are placed a foot and a half deep into the rock.
Fellow artist Lee Knowles Metteer said, “The artist is an incredibly hard worker and gives not just to this community but also over seas. I’m awfully glad she got the project.”
Stirrett said of her work and its placement, “I love to see a space and everything around it. How can the art piece complement what’s already here?”
Stirrett said the swords symbolize peace and unification, but she wanted a creative approach “to keep it true to the history.”
Dave Lambert, owner of Slippery Pig Brewery, admired the glass gleaming in the afternoon sun. “[These are] our ties to Norway … It will deeply enhance the [tourist] experience and remind people of our Scandinavian roots.”
He felt compelled to wear an expression of his heritage: a kilt. When asked if public cultural art might inspire more men to wear kilts, he replied, “I think everything should inspire men to wear kilts.”
Carlie Fuentes, a recent graduate of the Northwest College of Art and Design said she felt inspired in a different way, “I think it’s really inspiriting that a local artist portrayed such a deep history through an art piece.”
