08/17/98

Plastic squirt guns, discarded Star Wars-style toys, water bottles and other items help make up a freewheeling organized jumble of junk artwork.

DUNSMUIR — Weird.

But it's going to fit in nicely at the equally weird and very bohemian "Burning Man'' festival in northern Nevada.

Standing about 20 feet tall and weighing between 8,000 to 10,000 pounds, a soon-to-be-finished chapellike art sculpture made of discarded children's toys, nail-polish remover bottles, water containers and a heap of other colorful plastic items sits on a vacant Butterfly Avenue lot waiting for its completion.

With a steel frame, it's likely the largest — and heaviest — piece of free-standing art in Siskiyou County, if not the entire north state, its creators say.

Squirt guns, balls, dolls and Star Wars-style toys are just a few of the countless plastic items that help make up the freewheeling organized jumble of junk.

Once the chapel, complete with domed top, is finished, it will be disassembled, transported to the Black Rock Desert, north of Reno, and reassembled for the Aug. 31-Sept. 7 Burning Man art festival.

Music and poetry will be broadcast from the plastic artwork during its stay in the remote Nevada desert for the festival, which attracted 15,000 people last year. Flames shoot out from each of the chapel's corners.

But, unlike the Burning Man festival's 40-foot centerpiece structure, it won't be torched when it's all over. The 38-paneled "Chapel of the Burning Book'' sculpture, which may eventually be used as a performing arts stage, is the dream of several Dunsmuir artists and community members who have toiled for months to design and build the piece.

Some say it's gorgeous, especially at night when it's illuminated from the inside and the plastic chapel appears to be made of stained glass.

"It really comes together at night,'' said Dunsmuir City Councilman and businessman Eric Webster.

Others might say it looks more like a nightmare than a dream.

Whatever.

Like a lot of art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

And to those who are building it, as well as to those with an appreciation for the offbeat, the chapel structure is a real stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks stunner.

"It's gone beyond what anybody thought it was going to be,'' said Finley Fryer, 45, a general contractor and art galley owner and the project's lead artist. "We have had half the town helping us. It's a group of people making something beautiful.''

Partially funded by the nonprofit Shasta Mountain Playhouse, the chapel was Finley's vision, which took root earlier this year during a trip to England, where he was impressed with a chapel he saw.

The plan mushroomed from there with a small core group, including Webster, carpenter-artist Steve Rice, Shasta Mountain Playhouse President Mario Rubino, cabinetmaker Glenn Crane, devoting almost all of their spare time to work on the elaborate sculpture.

"It's a shared event,'' Rubino said. "It's all of us.''

Rubino said they were all aware of the Burning Man festival and decided to display the sculpture there after one of the playhouse group members waxed enthusiastic about it after attending last year's event.

"That kind of nailed it,'' Rubino said.

Design work and gathering plastic materials began about six months ago, while construction began in May.

And, the group said, many community residents became caught up in the sculpture's progress, donating plastic and doing other chores to help in its creation.

But, they said, not all those who participated shared the same vision, which created a few hurt feelings along the way.

"It hasn't been without a few bumps,'' Finley said.

Still, the Dunsmuir residents carried on and now, about $6,000 later, they are starting to put the final touches on it.

"It's been a great experience for the artists,'' said Rubino, who is impressed with the creation and says the group is also accepting donations to help defray its cost.

"People can't believe it's plastic,'' he said."It looks like stained glass. Bizarre.''