Local artist recreates and improves on masterpiece
PLAINS – Kenton Pies created a legend on Mercer Island nearly 50 years ago and now he has the opportunity to recreate and improve on that legend.
Pies, a local artist, had built a dragon playground for the island that sits within Lake Washington, a playground that got so much attention it became known as the dragon park.
His original piece of art began to deteriorate over the years and after receiving a phone call in May, the local city hall contacted Pies to see if he could create yet another masterpiece.
Keeping with the same theme, Pies was asked to come up with a dragon playground that would keep the tradition of “dragon park” alive.
“They were so thrilled to have found me,” said Pies explaining the joy they both experienced.
As a group of over 50 art students from Plains High School loaded off the bus to see Pies’ artwork, Pies was ready to share his creation.
He explained the first step to this project was creating a clay model – something Pies considered to be the key to the project.
“This clay model is the scale. You can measure it and make sure all the parts are similar and the right size,” said Pies.
After receiving the call, Pies wanted to create an even bigger version of the original thing. He recruited Derek VonHeeder to help with the project because of his welding skills.
In his dedication to the project, VonHeeder poured a brand new concrete slab adjacent to his shop so the dragon could be pulled out of the building and partway assembled.
The framework, consisting of a metal mesh welded carefully onto the frame, loomed over all of the kids. The dragon was indeed bigger than the original and it offered a variety of different aspects.
According to Pies, the first dragon he built had a closed mouth. This time he created the dragon with an open mouth so that kids could climb in through the mouth, adding another element.
The enormous dragon will later be covered with polished concrete; the tail will be a 16 foot slide the kids can ride down.
“This one is a lot more progressive, there’s a lot more experience behind it,” explained Pies.
The dragon, estimated to weigh around 1,200 pounds, will be transported to Mercer Island in four different sections. Once it arrives at its destination, the concrete will be added.
The final surface coat will be a “dragon green” helping to bring the dragon to life.
Pies said the dragon should be transported to Mercer Island by October 26 of this year.
As he dove into his history as an artist, Pies explained to the kids that he never thought he would become an artist.
After now doing artwork for over 50 years, Pies said he learned mostly by doing.
“I think everyone has an ability to create things. A lot of it is latent – they just don’t know about it yet,” said Pies.
He explained that his journey consisted of a lot of ups and downs – like life, he said.
“A lot of things can be done with imagination that certain people might not know until you get into it and experience it. So that’s how I got going,” said Pies.
As the kids milled around the dragon, Pies interacted with them answering whatever questions they presented him. He was undoubtedly proud of his creation, something he certainly had the right to be.