Local business owner enlists friends on 12-ton artwork honouring Albertans

A Sherwood Park business has added some supersized artwork to show its appreciation for others.

Don Lucas, owner of Encore Trucking and Transport off Highway 16, is the owner of a new 13-foot-high tribute to the endurance of Albertans.

"After COVID, I was really proud of the way the Alberta people came through it like we did it, we made it through that awful time," Lucas said.

The sculpture shows a family and their horse, walking together through the cold and wind.

Lucas said the idea was inspired by how people made it through the COVID-19 pandemic, and his "crazy creative" friends Roger Shore and son Matthew Shore were the artists to make it a reality.

"We thought it was a wonderful idea," Matthew said. "It was easy to tap in because every family is struggling right now."

"So we did a miniature version about nine-and-a-half inches, and then we scaled it up – scaled it up a lot."

Sculpting has been a hobby of Mathew's since he was young, but he said his latest creation is by far the biggest at around 25,000 pounds.

It's also the first time he's used concrete as a medium.

"I've never sculpted concrete, so it was a learning experience," he added. "I tried to paint it to look like bronze and that was a bit of work."

Lucas said the creation of the statue has been a healing moment for the group of friends and he hopes that passersby can find something in the sculpture as well.

"I'm hopeful that other people see it the way we do," Lucas added. "That it's seen as a journey of struggle and something that they can take pride in and find some perseverance inside themselves."