Kirby's Fremont

Stockbroker by Day, Fremont Artist the Rest of the Time

By Kirby Lindsay

Shane Flock with his Goalie and Personal Totem Pole.

These sculptures are the work of Shane Flock, a young

Pest Control Man by Shane Flock.

financial consultant. His mother, Roberta Flock, owns many apartment buildings in Fremont and other Seattle neighborhoods. Shane, however, followed in the steps of his father, Larry, and makes his living at Merrill Lynch. He enjoys trading stocks and talking money.

In his free time he makes art. Behind the Greenwood house that Shane and six other tenants call "home" sits an unremarkable structure, except for the motorcycle, snowmobile and steel hunter that sit atop it. Inside Shane creates his unique and whimsical statues. Most are of people "doing" something, like the scuba diver, hockey goalie, gardener, and pest control worker that decorate the property. Each is made of steel--bike parts, building scrap and dismantled weapons--Shane found at salvage yards. While most trucks enter full, his drives in empty and leaves with 1000 pounds of steel at a time. He looks for pieces that resemble a hand, foot or torso--although to others it looks like a gear, tire rim or saw blade. These days he searches for "heads"--pieces that could form a face for his next creation--and the parts of a horse. Sometimes parts come from other sculptures. A Roman centurion has been dismantled to provide bodies of new inspirations.

Shane never intended to become a Fremont artist. His hobby began with his Ford Bronco. He wanted a roll cage and needed it welded in place. The installer charged $250 for the service. Shane paid it, but bristled at the expense. "No one will ever weld for me again," he swore. He bought his own welder, and soon discovered how reasonable the price had been.

His mother, a patron of the arts, suggested he weld sculptures. "I thought it was ridiculous," he admits now. The welder was for manly pursuits, for fixing up his truck. Then one afternoon, unintentionally, his tinkering led him to build a hunter statue from auto parts lying about.

Now he occasionally takes commission work. Jobs come from people who see the sculptures that decorate his yard. He has a web site, www.speedart.net, where people can see past work. However, the deadlines and expectations of art don't appeal to him. "If you have to work," he explained, "it's more like work." He doesn't want to lose the fun of art, ever.

What May Be

Fremont has art. Too much? Not enough? Whatever your opinion, carried in the hearts of most Fremonsters are wish lists of future art projects, although no two lists may be the same.

Most lists include gargoyles. At a Fremont Arts Council retreat approximately six years ago the children had a brainstorming session. The kids suggested gargoyle statues be placed atop area buildings, each announcing the time once a day--and at noon all declare "Lunch!"

The Salmon Street Springs in downtown Portland.

The Fremont Arts Council had seed money for the project, and a Call to Artists was drafted--and never sent. Volunteers fell away as life and the parade and other events took them away. And, for now, the gargoyles sleep.

The Slippery Slope project has been around nearly as long. The slope is on the grassy bank behind the Fremont Library. People continuously scramble up and down, creating a groove in the earth between the Library and the PCC parking lot. On a rainy day the slope turns into a muddy, slippery mess better suited for a slide than a climb.

The Slippery Slope behind the Fremont Library on a good day.

Fremont business people, artists and neighbors gathered to discuss construction of a staircase. What began as a simple set of steps, artistically placed on the hillside to provide a safe way to ascend, grew elaborate. The plan passed through many hands and heads. One version had an ADA compliant ramp wandering up the side of the hill with creative tile work and sculptures installed along its vast length.

It has become an ambitious project--and a silent one. While the library is being refurbished and the plans for neighboring open space are deliberated, volunteers have moved on to matters more pressing, and funded.

The third project is even more vague. A random visit to Portland, on an unusually warm day, introduced me to the Simon Street Fountain. It lay in downtown Portland, alongside the river from which it pulls water. The fountain is designed to provide hours of entertainment for children who jump and dance through the water, and adults who cool off during lunch hour.

Someday I would like to see such a fountain in Fremont, to provide a place for children to play while adults sit and enjoy. This is a neighborhood that could see construction of another fountain or a whimsical staircase or gargoyles. Such things are possible and even probable here in the Center of the Universe, where sometimes art just happens, the inspiration burst out of us like something carried in the water we drink.

Kirby Lindsay has chairs, and will travel all of two blocks to both of the Outdoor Cinemas this summer. If you have questions about Fremont, you may write to her c/o The Seattle Press or e-mail to fremont@oz.net.

Reader Comments

Discuss this article in the forums!