The inspiration for one of the more unusual sculptures in Colorado was born from scraps.
Steamboat Springs resident Randy Salky has constructed a menorah out of skis and, most recently, snowboards.
His mother was an oil painter, and Salky did his fair share of doodling growing up. But the Steamboat attorney didn’t find his voice through sculptures until a fateful trip to the Milner Mall, a recycling facility about 17 miles west of the mountain town.
To Salky, other people’s discarded items were a treasure trove. His inspiration came from seeing “all these discarded pieces of property or furniture or different things and kind of thinking of, ‘What can I create with this? What can I make out of this?’” he said.
He first crafted a sign out of a discarded surfboard and other various knick-knacks. Salky also created a tipi made of skis — a “skipi,” as he said — and a structure made of discarded box fans.
Eventually, he constructed a menorah with skis wrapped in lights. His then-rabbi then asked him to create a menorah for the community. That creation wasn’t made of skis but instead was made of plexiglass candles with lights inside. That menorah is outside of the synagogue every Hanukkah with the same base, plus fence posts that are painted blue and wrapped in lights. This year, the eight-day holiday begins at sundown on Sunday, Dec. 14.
Born from that experience was Salky’s snowboard menorah called “Eight Nights of Shred.”
Salky sourced the base of the snowboard menorah from an old trailer someone was planning to get rid of. On top were the “candles” — snowboard decks.
“Four snowboard decks (are) mounted on an internal wooden frame, and they’re all mounted on the flatbed trailer,” Salky explained. “They’re also on kind of a lazy susan, so each candle spins or can be spun.”
There’s metal tubing encircled by the decks to protect the wiring for the LED flame light. The outside of each deck has pulsating LED lights.
The menorahs have been a hit with communities throughout that part of northern Colorado. They even landed Salky an interview on NPR last December. Salky enjoys the public’s love for his works.
“It was nice to see at the base of the ski mountain, the individuals just reacting to it and seeing it, and kids going up and spinning snowboard decks around in a circle,” Salky reminisced. “It was nice to have the public appreciate it and also be able to interact with it.”
Salky’s melding of the Jewish faith and visual art was inspired by Israeli artist Yaacov Agam.
Agam is known for colorful, surreal and modernist works, some of which embrace movement. A 2019 article posted by the Park West Gallery in the Detroit, Mich., area noted that Agam “creates non-representational artwork in order to align and adhere to the tenets of the ‘Kabbalah,’ the ancient Hebrew study of mysticism.”
“I used his type of art as inspiration for one menorah that’s painted on the front (with) very vibrant colors, and it’s kind of in an Agam style,” Salky said. “Agam also created a lot of pieces that could be interacted with and manipulated, or turned. So, I used that again as an inspiration for the snowboard menorah so that the pieces could spin.”
Salky was born and raised in Memphis. He and his family fell in love with the Steamboat area after multiple visits in and out of ski season. In 2005, they moved to Steamboat, where Salky runs a law practice.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a detachment (from work), but a great distraction, and it’s a great way to kind of decompress and focus on something unrelated to practicing law,” Salky said of his art. “It’s a great outlet.”