Bill Lenker Teams up with the Tenino Stone Carvers

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The sitting wall in Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls, overlooking the Deschutes River and falls, has reclaimed stones from the 1906 Olympia Light and Power building that used to stand lower down the falls. Photo credit: Rebecca Sanchez
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Stone carver Bill Lenker is up to new things. He’s headed out to Tenino to join forces with the Tenino Stone Carvers in a collaborative partnership that will pair Lenker’s experience, skills and knowledge with those of Keith Phillips and Dan Miller. Together they have already been creating some amazing pieces both in Tenino and in Tumwater. New collaborations are already in the works at the quarry as well as at their Tenino workshop location, The Shed.

heritage bank LogoOriginally from Pennsylvania, Lenker was inspired by East Coast stonework. For the last 25 years, he has made a living doing stonework, masonry and dry stack. Through his business Lenkerbrook Stoneworks, he has done work in both custom creations and civic projects.

He also has visual arts experience, which helps with carving. He has expressed his artistic skills in forms such as writing, poetry, sketching, watercolor and more recently playing music.

Wanting to further his stone carving skills, he joined a class at Arbutus Folk School in Olympia where he met Phillips and Miller. After that, they began to collaborate on projects together. The plan going forward is to work with them at The Shed in Tenino where Lenker will also transition to more detailed stone carving and nonprofit work celebrating the heritage and history of Tenino stonework. “I’m excited to glean skills that Dan and Keith have as well as share my own with them,” says Lenker. “The biggest draw to me is that stone is history and art is healing. To combine these elements is a great opportunity. I enjoy the process of building, but carving gives a greater depth of engagement.”

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Bill Lenker is joining with the Tenino Stone Carvers to further his detailed carving skills and continue to do stonework repair. Photo courtesy: Bill Lenker

Lenker’s focus will be on banker masonry, restoration, relief carving and sculpting. For example, Tenino sandstone is prevalent in many older buildings, beyond this region even. When the decorative or structural stones of those buildings are damaged or become deteriorated, a skilled craftsman is called upon to recreate it. Lenker will be doing more of this work, called banker masonry, sculpting decorative stone and architectural features, recreating them through ornamental stone cutting. Lenker has a number of relief work pieces at The Shed, such as stones with Celtic knots and birds. His very unique piece, “Fleurs,” is a carving of flowers cascading over a pot made from a piece of reclaimed stone originally from the old Olympus Hotel in Tacoma. Heavier stonework is done at the quarry nearby.

Phillips, Miller and Lenker have collaborated on larger projects in Tenino. In 2018, Lenker built the Tenino Veterans Memorial and wall that spans over small arches with tympanums of historic Tenino scenes that are work done by Phillips and Miller. It was their first project together after the Arbutus carving class. The memorial is located in the Tenino City Park by the Tenino Quarry Pool. Another is a grotto at St. Peter Mission in Tenino, where Lenker constructed the wall, arch and alcove while Phillips carved the keystone’s relief letters.

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Lenker’s piece, ‘Fleurs,’ is a carving of flowers cascading over a pot, made from a piece of reclaimed stone originally from the old Olympus Hotel in Tacoma.
Photo credit: Bill Lenker

More than a few of Lenker’s projects are in Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls in Tumwater, and they too reflect the heritage preservation theme. The sitting wall and the bluestone patio outside of the Tumwater Falls office are examples. Lenker built the structure, and Phillips did the relief work indicating the year. Look closely at the sitting wall. The flat bench stones and quoins, the granite corner stones, are different than those that make up the base of the wall. That’s because many of those in the wall are reclaimed stones from the Olympia Light and Power building that used to exist lower down the falls. Look very closely and see that the stonemason marks from 1906 are mixed in with Lenker’s. Visitors will also see his earlier work in the stone walls along the Deschutes River walking path. “The most memorable project was the Tumwater Falls river trail walls,” says Lenker, “as it has been the location of much geological, cultural and industrial history over the millennia. Quite the location for a project!”

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The 3.5 ton sandstone block that will become the Olympia Beer logo, commissioned by the Olympia Tumwater Foundation, is shown here arriving at the Tenino quarry from the Wilkeson quarry. Bill Lenker stands to the left in the photo and Keith Phillips stands on the truck bed holding a cardboard template of what the carving will look like. Photo credit: Bill Lenker

The group is working together on a 3.5 ton, Wilkeson sandstone Olympia Beer Logo. The piece was commissioned in March, 2021 by the Olympia Tumwater Foundation. Lenker drew the layout for the foliage on the flanks of the arch, which is a large horseshoe. In the center, the carving template shows plans for depictions of the falls and the walkover bridge. Continued work is being done at the Tenino Quarry, and its final destination is Brewery Park. “I enjoy the public projects,” says Lenker, “because they benefit everybody, and art is meant to be shared.”

Lenker’s artistic eye is evident through the many projects he has done in the stonemason trade. From custom jobs to restoration projects, monuments and memorials, his work can be found in homes and public spaces such as Luhr’s Landing at the Nisqually delta and in the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge to the south in Clark County. His works are a demonstration of unique skill, and they exhibit careful attention to detail, making them one of a kind. Joining with the Tenino Stone Carvers will be a venture in honing those skills even further and doing collaborative work with them in the days ahead.

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