Beaver sculptures ‘hit the road’ for museum’s ‘Dam It! Beavers and Us’ exhibit

Four beaver statues going on display, from Bend to Madras

BEND, Ore. ( KTVZ) -- Beavers may not be the most unusual sight in Central Oregon, but four new 4 1/2-foot-tall fiberglass beaver sculptures on display around the region are.

The specially decorated beavers are part of the 'Dam It!, Beavers and Us' art exhibit at the High Desert Museum. There are four beavers in total, two in Bend's Old Mill District and at Redmond Airport, which are already installed, and the other two, planned for the Museum at Warm Springs and in Madras.

“An aim of this project was to inspire conversation," Heidi Hagemeier, director of communications for the High Desert Museum, said Thursday.

Sweet Pea Cole of Bend is one of the artists who designed one of the beaver statues. Hers features beavers parachuting down to earth.

“I was absolutely excited," Cole told NewsChannel 21 when asked about being approached to design a beaver. "I also love beavers and love wildlife in general, but beavers in particular are really an interesting species, so I was thrilled to be a part of it.”

Ellen Taylor, Jess Volk and Andreis Fourie are the three other Central Oregon artists featured in the special displays.

“Each of them is delightful and engaging in its own way," Hagemeier said. "It's wonderful to see the artists' unique interpretation of the 4.5-foot beaver, and I would really encourage people to see all of them throughout the region.”

The beaver exhibit at the High Desert Museum will be in place until Oct. 3.

Learn more about these special Beavers and the artists here: https://highdesertmuseum.org/beaver-art/