.jpg)
The City of Park Rapids and Park Rapids Arts and Culture Commission sponsor the Park Rapids Sculpture Trail in Red Bridge Park and Downtown Park Rapids. For the first time this year, artists were given a suggested theme: the Mississippi Headwaters. Several sculptures offer a connection to this iconic place. The Region 2 Arts Council awarded a grant to the city and all the money was added to the stipend artists receive.
The Park Rapids Sculpture Trail started in 2018 with six sculptures in Red Bridge Park. In 2019, solar lighting was added to highlight each sculpture and the Sculpture Trail expanded with the addition of two artworks Downtown. For 2025-26, the Sculpture Trail offers five new sculptures in Red Bridge Park and seven Downtown. Sculptures are selected from among artists in an annual spring competition. They are displayed for one year and always available for sale.
Sculpture photos by Laura Grisamore.
The Mythical Mississippi Dragonfly Tree
by Depot Art Collaborative, Park Rapids, MN
Sponsored by Thielen Motors
Value = $2,500
Description: Recycled Exhaust Pipe, Recycled Silverware
The Mythical Mississippi Dragonfly Tree was the brainchild of instructor Charlie Arvik. The welding on the sculpture was completed by 13 clients of Hubbard County DAC, now known as C.R.E.A.T.E., who worked alongside Charlie as they contributed their time and skills to make this concept come to life. Could this tree possibly grow somewhere near the Headwaters of the Mississippi? We aren’t sure, but it could answer the question, "Mama, where do baby dragonflies come from?"
Website: https://www.hcdac.org/
The Sum of Its Parts
by Chris Gustafson - Falcon Heights, MN
Sponsored by Northwoods Bank
Value = $6,000
Description: Welded Steel, Recovered Metals
"When I created this piece, I had recently been to several museums and found it amusing what little percentage of fossilized bones exist in many of the reconstructed dinosaur skeletons. This sculpture is a representation of my favorite dinosaur, a Triceratops. My process was to lay out the scrap I had excavated and, much like a paleontologist, study the pieces and determine how they must fit together. Some pieces are inspiration and other pieces are invented to fill in the whole. The skull is made of industrial scrap steel, the horns are hand carved basswood, the fringe is edged with lilac wood. All wood components are sealed with penetrating oil."
"In many ways, my form of metal sculpture is the antithesis of my career. As a mechanical engineer, I develop industrial automation equipment and focus on efficiency, simplicity, precision and repeatability. As an artist, I move through the process, relish in the labor, pursue aesthetic vision, and create handcrafted one of a kind sculptures."
Reclaimed Bird
by Clayton Johnson - Park Rapids, MN
Sponsored by Park Rapids Rotary Club
Value = $1,000
Description: Reclaimed Steel, Rebar
"An old pitchfork, tractor parts, lawnmower blades and an old hedge clipper turned into this bird. I imagine it perched on a rotten log on the edge of a lake."
Serenity
by Debra McPeck - Blaine and Menahga, MN
Sponsored by Arvig
Value = $200
Description: Mortar, Stones, Granite, Jewelry
"Whether it’s the flowing waters of the Ping River in Northern Thailand or the flowing waters of the Mississippi River Headwaters in Northern Minnesota, we experience the gift of serenity as we relax, close our eyes and listen."
Bo’n’aro
by Jerry Mevissen - Sebeka, MN
Sponsored by Heartland Arts
Value = $1,500
Description: Found Objects, Aluminum, Steel
BO’N’ARO is a found objects sculpture – whimsical and interactive. Position your subject, and it appears he/she is shooting the arrow. And note, the arrow is pointed at the Mississippi Headwaters. Go head; try it. The found objects are a hammock stand, flag pole, security fence post cap, handsaw blades, steel cable and tractor wheel weight. Credit and gratitude for the construction go to Nate Schaper.
It All Starts Here
by Jim Pedersen - Walker, MN and Ryan Pedersen - North Mankato, MN
Sponsored by C.R.E.A.T.E.
Value = $3,000
Description: Steel and Stainless Steel
This sculpture pays tribute to the mighty waters of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, along with Leech Lake, whose beauty and power inspire endless adventures across Minnesota. It stands as a symbol of the deep connection between nature and the joy it brings to our journeys.
Website: Pedersen Metal Design
Rivers Edge
Artist: Jim and Ryan Pedersen
Sponsor: Anonymous
Rivers Edge
by Jim Pedersen - Walker, MN and Ryan Pedersen - North Mankato, MN
Sponsored by Anonymous
Value = $6,795
Description: Welded, Ground and Heat Treated Steel, Brass and Hammered Textures
Inspired by the fluid transition of melting ice, revealing delicate layers of rock, silt and water beneath. Its flowing, textured form mirrors nature’s quiet transformation along the river’s edge.
Website: Pedersen Metal Design
Loon Leaving Itasca
by Michael Pettit - Dent, MN
Sponsored by Klein Insurance
Value = $4,000
Description: Clear Coated Aluminum
"Loon Leaving Itasca Is my vision of a loon playing in the currents, of the headwaters leaving Lake Itasca. I tried to set up relationships suggesting reflections, so that the swirl element suggests the reflection of the loon in the water. The headwaters have the clear water that would make the reflection possible, while the currents are gentle enough to distort the reflection but not fragment it."
Facebook: The Sculpture Sanctuary
Miss. 66
Artist: Michael Pettit
Sponsor: Russel Skoe Family Trust
Miss. 66
by Michael Pettit - Dent, MN
Sponsored by Russel Skoe Family Trust
Value = $4,000
Description: Clear Coated Steel
"Miss. 66 Is the result of contemplating two different calls for art at the same time. I was working on ideas for representing the Mississippi Headwaters as a negative space, when I came across Springfield Missouri’s call for Route 66 Gateway sculpture proposals. The resulting sculpture was designed to answer both calls. The curvature of the sculpture was chosen to represent the flow of the Mississippi through northern Minnesota before it heads south. The double spiers representing river banks, or the two lanes of Route 66. The title, an eight-character high security password expression of the word Mississippi, in Minesota, would be a term of endearment for the highway in Missouri."
Facebook: The Sculpture Sanctuary
Cosmic Turtle
by Keith Raivo - Brook Park, MN
Sponsored by Park Rapids Downtown Business Association
Value = $1,500
Description: Stainless steel, Copper
"A turtle is part of many creation myths around the world. I think this cosmic turtle has a lot to carry with our currently messed up planet."
Mermaid-Merman
by Keith Raivo - Brook Park, MN<
Sponsored by Crystal Brook Senior Living by Vivie
Value $3,000
Description: Aluminum, Staron Solid Surface Material
Turtle and 13 Moons
by Simon Zornes - Zirkle, MN
Sponsored by Sanford Park Rapids Clinic
Value = $11,500
Description: Granite
Many indigenous people look at a turtle’s back as a Lunar calendar with its pattern of 13 large scales standing for 13 moons in each year. The pattern reminds us all things are connected and we must live in balance.
Facebook: Art from Nature
Grass Side Menagerie
Artist: Clayton Johnson
Permanent Sculpture at Bearly Used Thrift Store
Grass Side Menagerie
by Clayton Johnson - Park Rapids, MN
Permanent Sculpture at Bearly Used Thrift Store
Description: Grass Side Menagerie was selected for the Sculpture Trail and located in Red Bridge Park for 2021-22. In 2022 it was acquired by the Hubbard County DAC and located at Bearly Used Thrift Store on Main Ave. So. Clayton enjoys making art out of materials that would otherwise be trash. Repurposed steel, (mower blades) are stamped with "grass side" for installation. "That is where the name comes from, the whimsical creatures make up the menagerie. I like the viewer to be able to decide what the story is…"
Tube Dude
Artist: Scott Gerber
Permanent Sculpture
Located in the Red Bridge Park
Tube Dude
by Scott Gerber - Sarasota, FL
Permanent Sculpture for Red Bridge Park
Description: The Tube Dude mounted on the Red Bridge Park kiosk was installed in 2015. It is made of aluminum, almost all from a recycled source.
Permanent Sculpture located in the Red Bridge Park
Facebook: Tube Dude
Sculpture Trail Sponsors:
Support Heartland Arts in our mission to promote arts and art education.
Visit Us on Facebook
