The first sculpture of Carbondale’s 2026 Art Around Town Artwalk was installed Wednesday at the intersection of Fourth and Main streets, marking the beginning of over a dozen new installations scheduled for the next month. 

“Spirit of the Forest,” by Longmont artist Ted Wilson, is one of 15 sculptures by 12 artists selected for this year’s Artwalk.

The Art Around Town Artwalk is a Carbondale staple and yet another way art is incorporated into every facet of life within the creative district. Each year, members of the Carbondale Public Art Commission (CPAC) vote to select sculptures from dozens of online submissions for the yearlong exhibition. The pieces are installed on marble bases around town and included on a map for self-guided tours. 

After the sculptures are installed, the new pieces in the “living gallery” are introduced to the public through a guided walking tour. This year’s Artwalk begins at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 4 at Carbondale’s Town Hall, followed by an Artists Reception at 7 p.m. at Marble Distillery. 

“I’m looking forward to sharing this beautiful collection of art with the community,” Julie Little, a CPAC member, said. 

This is the second year in a row that Wilson will have his work featured in a Carbondale artwalk. 

Wilson is a self-taught blacksmith who has 20 years of metal sculpting under his belt. 

“There’s a creative side of me that doesn’t rest,” Wilson told the Post Independent. “Sometimes I’ll get a shape or an idea in my head that won’t leave me alone until I make it.”

“Spirit of the Forest” features a large stag posed with its hoof resting on a rock sourced from the Grand Canyon area. 

Bronze leaves mirroring one of Wilson’s previous works sprout from its antlers. The leaves, which he previously featured on a sculpture of a tree, were the spark that inspired Wilson to create the stag. 

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Crafted of forged steel, bronze and stone, the piece took Wilson and his assistant six weeks of full-time work to create. To make the stag, around eight inches of steel at a time were heated in his forge and then bent between two cleats on an anvil or welding table. Each piece was hammered to create a texture similar to woody vines, and the leaves adorning the stag’s antlers were constructed from bronze sheet. 

Wilson created two versions of the sculpture. The “Spirit of the Forest” that was installed in downtown Carbondale is the second version. The first has a diamond plate as a base, while the second features a platform made of weathering steel. 

In Wilson’s mind, “Spirit of the Forest” sprouted as a plant before growing into a stag. It represents the quiet, watchful, wise presence Wilson has often felt while wandering alone in the woods.

The stag calls for good stewardship of the land, reminding viewers of the fierce, beautiful power of nature and the respect the wilderness demands. 

“A spirit passed through this place, and the earth remembered. Root and branch rose to bear his image — majestic, vigilant, eternal,” Wilson wrote in a poem about the sculpture titled “Spirit of the Forest.” 

“His eyes, serious and ancient, watch over the forest still. Before him, you are a guest, and your intentions matter,” the poem continues. “Respect the wild. Honor the guardian. The spirit sees you.”