It looks like this is an old canoe that has been left for eons on the beach at Boulder Park, but in reality it is a new piece of artwork donated to the city by retired University of Minnesota art professor Wayne Potratz. The metal structure should last for many years through the elements, said Potratz, who hopes to inspire other people to donate art to the city that can be displayed for the public. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
It took longer than expected to arrive, but the artwork called Camping at the edge of Nature and Culture made by Wayne Potratz in 2013 is finally home and sitting on the beach next to Boulder Park ready for viewing.
The goal was to have this in place last fall, said Potratz, “But my schedule got backed up and it couldn’t be done at that time.”
The seven-foot-long 280- pound metal cast canoe and cast iron canoe paddles —were on the trailer and ready to be delivered to the concrete slab on the beach next to Boulder Park on Friday, July 13, at 1 p.m. but where was that darn slab?
Poured last fall and covered by beach gravel, the exact location of the slab was unknown. And as Potratz and fellow sculptors Tom Christiansen and Greg Mueller were finding out, there is lot of beach that hugs Boulder Park.
After poking around with shovels for 20-30 minutes, Potratz found the slab and started clearing the foot or so of beach gravel that covered it. Not long after park manager Dave Tersteeg showed up with a front-end loader and made short work of the gravel covering the slab.
Using a tin template, Wayne Potratz drills a hole while fellow metal sculptors Tom Christiansen and Greg Mueller (white T-shirt), who assisted Potratz with putting the canoe in place, stand on the template to make sure it didn’t move. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
Before the canoe could be lifted off the trailer, the three artists laid a tin template down on the concrete and drilled three small holes six to eight inches into the slab. Once the small “marker” holes were sunk, it was time to remove the template, then much larger holes were drilled for the anchor screws that would hold the canoe in place. Then cast iron canoe paddles that were adorned with turtles and etched drawings were added to the display, and finally Potratz’s 40-plus-year-old green knapsack, now covered in green colored metal, was placed under one corner of the canoe.
Then the marker was put in next to the display telling its title and the artist.
Wayne is a retired professor emeritus who taught art at the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts for 40 years. He’s been coming up north for many years on solo canoe trips and to visit friends on the shore. He also teaches classes occasionally at North House Folk School and at the Grand Marais Art Colony.
He made the canoe and paddles in 2013 in Houston, Texas, at a friend’s iron works studio. “It took me three days to make this piece,” he said.
When asked what the value of the artwork would be he said, “Well, with transportation cost, the cost of materials and time I spent working I would estimate its value to be around $10,000.”
Even though the structure weighs 280 pounds, it has a displacement of 540 pounds, said Potratz, adding, “So technically this canoe should float.” Then added with a wry smile, “Not that we are going to test it.”
Potratz said he was motivated to make the piece as a gift to the city “to jumpstart the conversation on public art. Brainerd has a sculpture walk that draws people to it. I hope this piece and other works of public art can also help draw more people to the area.”
As for the knapsack, he used it routinely when he worked at a YMCA camp in his youth. It was a piece of his life that he had cherished and saved and now found a useful place to share it with everyone. “I hope people can figure out what it is,” said Potratz, as he eyed the knapsack and canoe which looks like it had just been pulled from the lake and was drying on the shore on its side.
Maybe people will figure it out. Maybe not. But all in all, the canoe, paddles, knapsack, the care and craftsmanship and art that abounds in the work, simply look great.
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