A metal downhill skier with a bolt for a head is mounted on a round SKF bearing, sliding down a metal outline of Lake Tahoe. This sculpture, made primarily of nuts and bolts, is one of the dozens of Sports Nuts Sculptures made by Olympic Valley artisan and Squaw Valley cable-lift operator Jonathan Millar.
“My favorite sculptures to make are the skiers and I like that most of them are made of chairlift bearings. Skiing is my favorite thing to do in Tahoe.” –Jonathan Millar
Most of Millar’s unique sculptures represent what he loves to do most in his free time: downhill ski.
“I moved here in 2004 after going to college in New Hampshire. I knew pretty early on that I’d want to move somewhere to ski and found Tahoe,” he says.
Millar ended up in Olympic Valley through a loose family connection working on the Squaw Valley Aerial Tram built in 1968. At the time, it was the largest tram in the world. It was a good place for Millar to pursue his passion and he quickly moved up the ranks, starting as a tram driver and moving into lift maintenance.
“Working at a ski resort is definitely fun; I’ve learned a lot being a part of all these huge main lift projects,” Millar says.
During his 15-year tenure at Squaw, Millar has climbed lift towers, changed out sheaves and chairlift wheels. Tram staff regularly maintains the cable lift; about five years ago they replaced the roller bearings in the chairlift towers. During that time, the original SKF bearings that kept the tram running for 40 years were getting switched out. Instead of throwing them out, Millar had the idea to create sculptures out of them. Thanks to Millar, these repurposed metal parts have been given a second chance at life.
“[SKF] bearings are more refined; they’re the top bearing company in the world,” he says.
Remembering the welding class he took in college, he started gathering the discarded pieces and welding them together. He joined the nuts and bolts together to create fun figures doing the things he’s interested in like mountain biking, hiking, exploring the world, surfing, fly fishing — and, most of all, skiing.
“At first it became a way to practice and then I started doing bigger sculptures,” he says.
Millar made sculptures for friends and family in the beginning but started selling them at local art shows as he improved. In 2009, Millar participated in Truckee First Fridays events and selling his sculptures more regularly at Riverside Studios in downtown Truckee. Millar also regularly has a booth at Made in Tahoe Festival usually held Memorial Day Weekend in the Village at Squaw. As of press time, it has been rescheduled for Oct. 10 and 11.
Millar also makes wine racks, wall hangings and other figurines. “My favorite sculptures to make are the skiers and I like that most of them are made of chairlift bearings. Skiing is my favorite thing to do in Tahoe,” he says.
Millar believes he’s made more than 1,000 sculptures since he started, the biggest one being a soaring airplane that was 2 feet high and 2 feet wide.
“I’ll spend one day welding, then one day cleaning and polishing,” Millar says, explaining that he’ll have at least 10 projects in different stages and move them through a process until he completes them. “Ten years ago, it would’ve taken me hours to do one; it’s definitely going much faster now. I like the shiny steel aspect of it. I think bearings are cool and I like the ingenuity of all the steps.”
Millar admits that he’s happy with his business where it’s at, raising three kids all younger than age 6 and trying to keep up with the demand at Riverside Studios.
“This business exceeded what my expectations were. Right now, it’s good. It’s a nice side hobby,” Millar says. | pinterest.com, etsy.com, riversideartstudios.com
