Rolling-pin woman statue unveiled in Snohomish

  • By Jim Davis The Herald Business Journal
  • Thursday, March 5, 2015 7:43pm
  • Business

SNOHOMISH — She towers over customers heading into the Snohomish Bakery, standing better than 12 feet tall and holding a massive rolling pin.

The statue was installed a week ago outside the shop at 101 Union Ave. She has been called rolling-pin woman, or RPW for short, but she hasn’t been formally named.

“There’s some names floating around,” said Andy Papadatos, the bakery’s owner. “I haven’t chosen one yet.”

The statue is mechanized so that the arms will go back and forth rolling the pin across an oversized table. The motion of the arms is aimed to catch the eyes of passersby walking through historic downtown Snohomish.

She’s scheduled to be turned on today.

“It’s our representation of the Hammering Man,” said Papadatos, referencing the statue outside the Seattle Art Museum.

It was created by Snohomish artist Jesse Purdom, a self-taught metal worker who spent more than a year perfecting the piece.

“Female is kind of a hard sculpture, because you’re really afraid of offending someone if you don’t do it right,” Purdom said. “I did the face three times.”

Purdom was a customer of the bakery when he ran his business, Pacific Metal Arts, in downtown Snohomish. (He’s since moved his shop to his home.)

He showed Papadatos some of his work one day. Papadatos asked him if he wanted to try a stab at a statue of a baker with a rolling pin.

“In five minutes, he was devoted to the project,” Papadatos said.

Purdom, 32, had been an electrician, but switched to art during the housing downturn about five years ago. A friend gave him a welding machine and $500.

“I didn’t even know how to weld,” Purdom said. “I knew I wanted to weld and I wanted to work with metal.”

He started making 3-D metal fish sculptures that he sold at farmers markets around the region. He has since grown Pacific Metal Arts to design sculptures for homes, businesses and cities.

“Sometimes you just find what you’re supposed to do, and I think that’s what happened with me,” Purdom said.

The rolling-pin woman is one of his largest pieces so far. It’s about the size of an American Indian warrior with a raven mask that he made for a client in Montana.

For the rolling-pin woman project, one of the bakers posed for the statue and Purdom took some pictures of her. From there, Purdom did some drawings for what the statue would eventually become.

The statue, which cost about $20,000, is made of hand-pounded steel with a custom patina coloring to give it a bronze look.

The rolling pin is made of maple; a woodworker Purdom knows from the summer circuit made it. The motor for the arms is tucked inside the table.

Purdom and three other guys carried the statue to the front of the Snohomish Bakery last week. He said that she weighs about 400 pounds and the arms come off.

“She’s not insanely heavy,” Purdom said.

Purdom said he’s thankful for his wife, Jen Purdom, who supported his career switch.

“Just a little credit to the wife for being cool and letting me do what I do,” he said.

Unveiling planned

An unveiling is planned at 3 p.m. today at the Snohomish Bakery at 101 Union Ave., Snohomish, for the metal sculpture. Snohomish Mayor Karen Guzack is scheduled to attend.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.