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Frank Ebermann, Sculptor
by Debi Smith

It never ceases to amaze me, the treasures we have right here in northern BC. I was sent to do a story on a Houston sculptor named Frank Ebermann. I drove the 20 km up the dusty, unpaved Buck Flats Road to where Frank and his wife Sofia live.

As I pulled into their yard, the sun sparkled on the winding river below their house, which distracted me from noticing the 17-foot high sculpture beside where I had parked. I looked up and saw carefully carved figures on the smooth-surfaced obelisk and instantly knew there was a story waiting for me inside.

Frank works on the Steelhead Park fountain sculpture in 1994
Click to zoom

It is well known that Frank Ebermann of Buck Flats Road was commissioned by the District of Houston in 1994 to design and create the masterpiece sculpture known as "Returning Steelhead." This frolicking fountain of fish draws hundreds of tourists annually to the centre of our Steelhead Park in Houston.

What is not well known is the rest of Frank's portfolio and how he came to be such an amazing sculptor and craftmaster.

Frank's first carving at age 5

Frank was born in Germany in 1945. His father was an architect. "His mother...", says Frank's wife Sofia as she points to an amazing applique picture on her wall, "...a very talented and artistic woman."

But Frank's grandfather was a master carpenter who made his own furniture to sell from his store. Despite being shooed away as his grandfather worked, Frank found a way to watch. He shows me a basket he had carved for the baby Jesus at age 5.

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