A trio of sleek dorsal fins protruded from ground near the parking lot by Juneau Montessori School and captured the attention of some school children walking by.<\/p>\n
The unmistakable orca fins are bronze sculptures that were temporarily parked Thursday while waiting out the preparation of their permanent home across 3rd Street in front of the Fish & Game building.<\/p>\n
“They represent the mysteries and primordial power of Southeast Alaska,” said sculptor John Coyne of Palmer, who made the sculptures that depict three whales.<\/p>\n
Coyne said “The Pod” was partly inspired by a close encounter with orcas he had while living on Sisters Island in the Aleutians East Borough.<\/p>\n
“We’d go out fishing on a 20-foot skiff, and a pod of orcas went by, and I never forgot how that felt,” Coyne said.<\/p>\n
While Coyne was born in Alaska, he spent more time in Maryland and Iowa, and the Sisters Island experience was among the first times he saw orcas in the wild.<\/p>\n
The three statues vary in size and represent a three-whale family.<\/p>\n
“The big guy is 14 feet long, the mom is 11 feet long, and the smallest one, Junior, is 8 feet long,” Coyne said.<\/p>\n
The partial whales took about 18 months to complete, Coyne said, and they were forged at Arctic Fires Bronze Studio in Palmer and shipped to their new home.<\/p>\n
“All the tools, all the equipment, all the work was all kept in state,” Coyne said.<\/p>\n
Both boat-building and surfboard-making technology and techniques were used to make the statues and smooth them out, Coyne said. “The Pod” also has stainless steel armature, or sculpture framework.<\/p>\n
“They’re extremely tough,” Coyne said.<\/p>\n
A statue statute<\/strong><\/p>\n The orcas came to Douglas because of Alaska’s Percent for Art Program.<\/a><\/p>\n The 43-year-old program stipulates that 1 percent of the cost of construction of a public building be set aside for permanent artwork. It works somewhat like putting a project out for bid with a request for artists, a review of designs and proposals by an art committee and a selection.<\/p>\n