Artist infuses characters into downtown Kalispell with life-sized sculptures

Step aside, there’s a new sheriff in town — and a goddess.

Two new statues by local sculptor Kayz Lynn were recently installed on Valley Bank and Ceres Bakery in downtown Kalispell.

Downtown visitors who look up will probably have seen Lynn’s other life-sized statues — an ice climber ascending the facade of Rocky Mountain Outfitter, a bear perched on top of the KM Building and a fleeing bank robber with a terrier nipping at his heels also on Valley Bank. 

Founded in Somers June 17, 1911, Valley Bank President Mark Hensley asked Lynn if she could sculpt a sheriff to be installed as part of its 113th anniversary serving the Flathead. Lynn obliged.  

“Now you’ve got a sheriff waiting around the corner,” she said. 

Indeed, the mustachioed sheriff calmly stands around the corner, his head turned, and white cowboy hat tipped downward as he waits for the gun-toting robber to race by. 

Adding a sheriff was mentioned when she was commissioned to create the bank robber four or five years ago. She said she received a call from Dan Hensley, who was vice president at the time, asking if she would consider sculpting a bank robber. 

“I thought it was the most far-out idea for a bank to put a bank robber,” she said pausing, “I loved it. You want a little humor so I got the little dog biting his foot and the dog has the vest that has VB, Valley Bank on it. So he’s supposed to be protecting the bank.” 

“I said to Dan at the time, ‘You know, you’ve got to have a sheriff around the corner eventually. And he said, Yeah, we’ll talk about that. That’s what we’ll do down the road. Dan passed away and I let it go. 

"Then, I got a phone call from his brother Mark who said that people come to the bank to comment on the robber all the time. They’re taking pictures. The tourists love it. You know, and would I consider doing the sheriff. I said sure. I’d love to.” 

“It adds a little character to downtown Kalispell,” said Valley Bank President Mark Hensley. 

Character is what defines a downtown and draws visitors, according to Hensley. 

SITTING ON a bicycle, a rosy-cheeked Ceres, the ancient Roman goddess of grain and harvest, seemingly careens down the bakery’s flying portico, her ponytail pulled up by the wind.  

“My husband loves bicycles. A lot. And so that’s one of the reasons why Kayz Lynn wanted to incorporate it,” said Hannah Bjornson, who co-owns Ceres Bakery with her husband Rick Grimm. 

The stalks of grain that Ceres is traditionally depicted holding have been baked into a baguette. In the other hand, she holds a cup, latte foam spilling out. Lynn has swapped the classical drapey garb the ancient Roman goddess is usually depicted wearing, for a white apron over a green and purple top and a cheery yellow skirt with little heads of grain painted along the bottom. Little golden wings jut from the heels of her lace-up boots. The bicycle basket is filled with white sacks probably filled with delicious pastries to deliver. 

“We told Kayz Lynn do whatever you want. Have fun with it,” Bjornson said.  

Bjornson said she noticed Lynn’s sculptures on downtown buildings when she moved to the area and thought it would be nice to have a statue at Ceres but there wasn’t a place to put it. Once the bakery expanded in 2021, the couple had the roofing to place it on. The project was delayed, however, when the pandemic hit. The statue was finally installed in May. 

“I think Kayz Lynn just did such a great job with her creative touches,” Bjornson said. 

Bjornson and Grimm got to know Lynn through mutual friends, and she is a regular customer. 

“Kalispell’s gotten bigger, but it’s still small,” Bjornson said. 

Lynn’s current work in mixed media has also been displayed at the bakery, which rotates out the work of local artists, which is available for sale. 

“Everyone should have art in their life. Like music, it’s not just the icing — it’s a necessity,” she said. 

So, how do the life-size sculptures hang from a brick wall or sit on a bicycle on a slanted roof? 

It’s the material. 

“They’re not heavy. They look heavy. The climber. I weighed him. He’s 75 pounds,” Lynn said. 

Lynn, who trained as a sculptor at the Massachusetts College of Art, spent the bulk of her career using bronze. About a decade ago, she gave up the labor-intensive lost-wax casting bronze process and learned about a “marvelous new material” and brand called Smooth-On Free Form Air, a lightweight epoxy putty. She builds and sculpts the putty over steel armature. Once it hardens the sculpture is given a coat of epoxy and painted. 

“I've worked in bronze for 30 years, I cast my own. That's one reason I bought this building was because I had a foundry in here. And so after working with difficult, expensive, dangerous material, this new stuff is safe. You can sand it; you can drill it; you don't have to weld it [and] you can add on to it,” Lynn said.  

TUCKED AWAY off Whitefish Stage Road in Kalispell is Lynn’s studio, Stillwater Sculpture. 

At the end of the driveway leading to the yellow building, an elegant, sky-blue horse catches the eye.  

The sculpture depicts a one-of-a-kind breed. 

When designing the sculpture, she didn’t know much about horses and said she quickly subscribed to a variety of Western and equine magazines to learn more. Taking artistic license, she chose features she liked from different photos.  

“When I finished the horse, a girlfriend of mine came in. She was a rider and she knew everything. She looked at the horse and said, 'OK that's the most amazing horse I've ever seen in my life. I said, 'Well, why Sue?' And she said, 'Well, it has the head of an Arabian; it has the chest of a Morgan and the legs of Saddlebred,'" Lynn said laughing. 

Inside her studio, the sun streams through a window onto a seating area where she takes a seat on a couch to talk about her work. 

On the floor, the studio’s co-resident, Missy the cat, rolls around an area rug, pawing at the carpet, her claws making light scratching sounds as they pluck the pile.  

“People come visit me and they’ll come through the door. Before they even say hi to me, they say, ‘Is Missy here?’” Lynn said with a smile. 

Various materials, mediums and found items cover several work tables in the spacious studio. Artwork by friends and colleagues decorate the walls.  

On one of the tables is a sculpture of a deer she is currently working on. The white deer is a blank canvas, waiting for her to paint. Once finished it will be displayed at Sassafras an art, craft, and antique cooperative where she sells her work on Main Street. 

In addition to sculpting, she uses mixed media to create pieces that hang on the wall. Lately, she’s gotten into stained glass. 

“I love to explore different materials,” she said. “You know that film ‘Castaway’ where the guy says you never know what the tides are going to bring in. If I go to a yard sale, or somebody brings me something and I say this piece is incredible. I could make a piece around that. And so it’s kind of fun,” she said. “I use fossils and found objects in my work. I have several kilns. I do ceramic work. So I can put whatever I want into it.” 

She recently retired from teaching art at Dayton Elementary after nearly three years. Teaching children was a great experience for her. 

“They’re so enthusiastic. They’re open. They love to discover new things and they believe in themselves. Well, most of them do. But usually, by the end of the class, you can see them grow,” Lynn said. 

These days, Lynn divides her time working in the studio and caring for her 102-year-old mother, often bringing her work to the living room where she can watch her create. 

Although she was exposed to music and the arts, as a child, she didn’t predict a career as an artist. 

“I come from a very creative, vibrant family — a large, extended family. And it was all wrapped around music. Oh, my mother and her four sisters sang with Tommy Dorsey,” she said. 

Dorsey led several of the most popular big bands of the swing era. 

“I was thinking I’d be an art therapist. I was a psych major,” she said.  

She changed her mind after working in a psychiatric hospital for three years but remains a firm believer that art, even viewing it, is therapy. 

“It’s therapy for everybody who sees it, especially public art,” she said. “You can lift the population a little bit and let them forget their troubles and enjoy where they are.” 

Walking outside, she points to an area behind the blue horse where she hopes to create a sculpture park featuring some of her pieces and the work of local artists for the public to enjoy. 

“It’s my lifelong dream,” she said, gazing out onto the grassy field, Missy jumping onto a picnic table beside her. 

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com. 

    Artist Kayz Lynn's sculpture atop Ceres Bakery in Kalispell on Wednesday, July 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Artist Kayz Lynn's climber sculpture on Rocky Mountain Outfitter in Kalispell on Wednesday, July 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Artist Kayz Lynn with her soon-to-be-finished deer sculpture at her workshop on Wednesday, July 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

A horse sculpture by Kayz Lynn in her front yard in Kalispell on Wednesday, July 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider

    Kayz Lynn's cat Missy rests on a picnic table on Wednesday, July 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Kayz Lynn's workshop in Kalispell on Wednesday, July 3. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Artist Kayz Lynn originally worked in bronze for 30 years before switching over to a lighter medium. Pictured is the first bronze sculpture Lynn cast in bronze It became a bust when the body broke off during the casting process. Lynn said she enjoys the learning process in working with new materials (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)