Artists Ron Bayens and Vic Payne, who created the two new sculptures in Ely’s Whiteside Park, introduced themselves at the July 1 Tuesday Group meeting.
Payne is the maker of “The Voyageurs” sculpture, while Bayens created the statue of Bill Mason, who is the “patron saint of canoeing in Canada,” according to Dr. Bill Rom, who commissioned and donated the statues with Holly Rom.
A dedication ceremony - involving a blessing, champagne, and statements from Bill Rom, the artists and mayor Heidi Omerza - followed the program, officially committing the statues to the City of Ely.
The Roms were inspired to commission the artists after visiting a gallery in Santa Fe and seeing Payne’s “Into the Wild” sculpture of Kit Carson and John Fremont canoeing in the West, which reminded them of Minnesota’s voyageur history.
“I took a picture of Holly standing next to it, and then we wandered up to other galleries, and about a year later, I was thinking, you know, I want to get a sculpture like that, but with voyageurs, not Western explorers and fur traders,” said Bill Rom. He eventually got in touch with Payne, who is originally from Lincoln County, New Mexico and now lives in Wyoming.
Working as a concrete truck driver after he left home as a young man, Payne tapped into his appreciation for art and sculpture during breaks.
“I asked my boss, I said, Hey, would you mind if I sculpt in that truck while I’m waiting on my loads to go out?” Payne said, “All my buddies, we go over back in the shop, you know, talking all the time. They’re like, why are you playing with that clay? That’s just, you know, that’s monkey business. Well, I went on about my business, and I got a sculpture done in about a year.”
After finishing the artwork, a Peterbilt truck, his boss asked to see it.
“The batchman came out and said, Hey Vic, what do you want for this sculpture? And I said, well, I’m gonna have to have about $1,500 for it,” Payne recalled, “So my first sculpture sale happened right that day, and they didn’t laugh at me no more.”
A year later, he quit his job. By now, he has reached the milestone of 45 years as a full-time sculptor and has established several galleries showcasing his work, which depicts historical scenes from the American West.
Ron Bayens, on the other hand, was born in Canada and now lives with his wife in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Bristol, Tennessee.
Bayens says his story is “the tale of two Bills, Bill Rom and Bill Mason.”
His mother sent him to a wilderness camp each summer beginning around the age of nine, an experience which launched his love for canoeing and his eventual interest in Mason, who is known for his films on canoeing and is also an artist.
“She did what most parents were doing at the time, took the boys and sent them off to wilderness camp. So we went out to wilderness canoe camp in northern Ontario, no electricity, no phones, no nothing. The whole premise was, we’re going to take you out canoeing. And I was hooked,” Bayens said, “I continued going to that camp until I was 24.”
He went on to become a professional portrait artist, but later moved toward sculpture.
“I did this little sculpture of Bill Mason, and did like you do at the time - you post it on Facebook. And everyone was like, I love Bill Mason. Can I get one? Can I get one? Can I get one?” Bayens said.
He got permission from the Mason family to continue producing the sculptures.
Rom found Bayens’ work on Kickstarter, where Bayens was “trying to raise money to do a bronze sculpture of a canoe with Bill Mason in it, going down a rapids,” leading Rom to reach out about creating one for Whiteside Park.
“My paintings are all held hostage inside. This gets to live outside,” Bayens said, “So it survived the winters. People send me pictures. I saw one with (it) buried under the snow, and just the canoe was sticking out. But it’s an honor, and it’s a thrill. I’m glad that my grandchildren, one day, will come up to do a canoe trip and they can touch something I did. That’s a big thrill to me. So thank you, Bill and Holly, for trusting me with that big leap of faith.”
Mayor Heidi Omerza also expressed gratitude to the Roms for donating the two works.
“I just want to thank Bill and Holly for these two statues. Amazing work, amazing history, amazing stories. They have enhanced Ely. I have not heard one person say anything but beyond spectacular about these two sculptures. The detail, the artwork - just amazing. And on behalf of the City of Ely, thank you for investing in the city,” Omerza said, “ I mean, what parks can say that they have two beautiful sculptures? Well, not very many, especially in a city of our size. It just makes our city more beautiful, more wonderful.”
