In summer 2024, NSS Associate John Leon’s newest commissioned sculpture The Flathead Lake Monster was dedicated in Polson, MT.  Nicknamed “Petra”, the 25-foot long bronze was commissioned by a patron as a gift to the city and to the people of the region. “I was tasked with creating a friendly, non-threatening-to-children lake monster, loosely based on a combination of sighting descriptions and a plesiosaur dinosaur,” says Leon.  “Artistically, I wanted to be sure to create a well-designed and well-crafted work of art, so I focused on introducing lots of curving forms in the body parts, and in the skin patterns, firstly, to create the impression of “Petra” swimming and undulating through water; and secondly, to create a pleasing-to-the-eye harmony of shapes and textures. The project took just under two years to complete, starting with proposal designs, then model-making, enlarging it in clay to the actual size, mold-making, bronze casting, crating, shipping, site preparation, and installation.  It was expertly cast in bronze, by Casting Arts & Technology in Cincinnati.”