Kevin Clifford/Nevada Appeal Master sculptor Matthew G. Welter looks at his Washoe Indian Woman sculpture Friday at Timeless Sculptures as a crane crew prepares to move the 4-ton, 16-foot tall sculpture onto a flat-bed truck. Welter has been working on the sculpture for two years. It is expected to last 200-300 years.
Sculptor Matthew Welter of Timeless Sculptures has had an intimate two-year relationship with a 16-foot-tall Washoe woman.
But on Friday she left him, moving from Welter's South Carson City studio to the west shore of Lake Tahoe.
The 3- to 4-ton sculpture is carved out of a single stump of California red cedar taken from the Sierra Nevada.
Welter said she is built to last and could watch over the shores of Tahoe for the next 200 to 300 years if she's well cared for, or, until her owners move her.
The sculpture was loaded by crane Friday onto a truck that took her to her new home.
Welter said she is modeled after Wanda Bachelor, a Washoe woman, and that he worked with the Washoe Tribe to help ensure the integrity of the piece.
Design work by Welter and the sculpture's owner took three years, followed by two years of sculpting, he said.
For information on Welter's work, commissions or apprenticeship programs see his Web site, timelesssculptures.com or call 841-8775.
