Giant trolls — including 2 in Colorado — have a message for humans about protecting the planet
By TERRY CHEA Associated Press WOODSIDE Calif Nestled in forests around the world a gentle army of giant wooden trolls wants to show humans how to live better without destroying the planet The Danish recycle artist Thomas Dambo and his squad have created troll sculptures including two in Colorado from discarded materials such as wooden pallets old furniture and wine barrels Twelve years after he started the Trail of a Thousand Trolls project his sculptures can be determined in more than countries and U S states In Colorado a troll named Isak Heartstone is located in Breckenridge and another Rita the Rock Planter is near Victor south of Cripple Creek Isak Heartstone a troll sculpture by Danish artist Thomas Dambo at its site along Illinois Creek Monday June near Breckenridge Photo by Hugh Carey Summit Daily file Each year Dambo and his group make about new trolls which stand up to feet tall I believe that we can make anything out of anything disclosed Dambo speaking from his farm outside Copenhagen We are drowning in trash But we also know that one man s trash is another man s treasure An installation of six sculptures called Trolls Save the Humans is on display at Filoli a historic estate with acres of forests and gardens in Woodside California about miles south of San Francisco They bring us back to be connected to the earth and to nature stated Jeannette Weederman who was visiting Filoli with her son in July Dambo s trolls each have their own personality and story At Filoli the troll Ibbi Pip builds birdhouses Rosa Sunfinger plants flowers and Kamma Can makes jewelry from people s garbage Each of them has a story to tell noted Filoli CEO Kara Newport It inspires people to think of their own stories what kind of creatures might live in their woods and make that connection to living beings in nature Dambo s trolls don t like humans because they waste nature s materials and pollute the planet The mythical creatures have a long-term perspective because they live for thousands of years and have witnessed the destructive force of human civilizations Related Articles Artist Thomas Dambo creator of Isak Heartstone will build a new troll sculpture in Teller County Artist of Breckenridge troll says town is allowing him to rebuild it Giant wooden troll is returning to Colorado ski town Breckenridge removes divisive giant wooden troll Thursday But the six young trolls at Filoli have a more optimistic view of human nature They believe they can teach people how to protect the climate They want to save the humans So they do this by teaching them how to be better humans be humans that don t destroy nature stated Dambo a poet and former hip-hop artist They hope to save them from being eaten by the older trolls Dambo s trolls are hidden in forests mountains jungles and grasslands throughout Europe and North America as well as countries such as Australia Chile and South Korea Greater part were built with local materials and assembled on-site by his company of craftsmen and artists with help from local contributors My exhibition now has four and a half million visitors a year globally and it s all made out of trash together with supporters explained Dambo That is such a huge proof of concept of why we should not throw things out but why we should recycle it Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter