'The 12th Seahawk' artwork on display at Old Hotel

OTHELLO – Those of you who are looking for that special gift for that special Seahawks fan may want to drop by the Old Hotel Art Gallery and check out “he 12th Seahawk.”

“The 12th Seahawk” is the creation of metal artist Tom Strohmaier of Lind. He is one of the artists of the month showing at the gallery in October.

“The 12th Seahawk” will be for sale, but it won’t be priced cheaply, Strohmaier said. Unless a miracle happens, he can’t duplicate it.

“Most of my pieces are made with old wagon springs,” he said. “Wagon springs are totally different than auto springs, and there aren’t any.”

Old wagon springs are exactly why Strohmaier got into metal art. Retired in 2010 from dry land wheat farming south of Lind along Highway 26, he inherited lots of old metal “stuff” when his father-in-law, Howard Heil, died in 2014.

“He used to rebuild horse-drawn wagons, sleds, sleighs, stagecoaches and surreys before he passed,” Strohmaier said. “He left a pile of unusually shaped steel and springs.”

“The 12th Seahawk” took months to build, Strohmaier noted. That’s part of why it’s not priced cheaply. Another reason is the inability to duplicate it. Strohmaier believes he could search all of the way to Kansas and not find old wagon springs.

Strohmaier’s art pieces are 99 percent made from wagon steel. Only the eyes are not. Those are balls from ball bearings, which were not used in the era of the farm wagon.

Strohmaier was inspired toward metal art when he saw his inherited pile. All old wheat farmers know how to weld, he noted, and he farmed for 30 years.

“I use a wire feed welder,” he said.

Strohmaier found the pile, which was amassed over many years, at Heil’s shop in Lind. Strohmaier works out of his own shop. It’s located at 421 North I and is named T Stro Metal Arts.

In addition to “The 12th Seahawk,” there are five more Strohmaier pieces at the Old Hotel exhibit. They will include the salmon that took Best of Show at a Ritzville festival.

It will not include “Steelhead Falls,” which depicts several salmon traveling upstream, jumping a four-foot falls. The top salmon is being plucked away by a hawk. The piece weighs 400 pounds.

“The ‘Steelhead Falls’ needs a pro to take pictures, too many small details,” Strohmaier said.

Strohmaier has created 20 pieces since he started and has sold five. Three of his pieces are on display at Uniquely Washington in Ritzville.

Other pieces scheduled for the Old Hotel exhibit were “Harley Davidson with Sidecar,” “Mounted Salmon on Driftwood,” “Lady Liberty’s Torch” and “Weight Lifter.”