On a beautiful bluebird day in December of 2023, groups of loved ones gathered around tents of hot chocolate and celebratory apple cider. Guests and curious passer-bys paused to read a plaque inscribed, “One Million Branches, by Sage Sullivan,” detailing the meaning behind Steamboat’s newest permanent art installation being unveiled that day.
Clad in her mom’s bright yellow snowsuit from the 80’s—Sage began with a tribute to those the valley has lost, including her mother the year before, Terri Sullivan. Having grown up in Steamboat Springs, knowing birth and loss within it, Sage Sullivan has a special idea of what makes the place home.
28 year-old Sage is the mastermind behind the base area’s newest permanent art installation, “One Million Branches.” Located at the Transit Center at the top of the escalators, the 16 foot tall sculpture represents diversity, inclusion, and the community she was shaped by. The idea for the installation, with flowers made from resin and branches composed of welded pieces of metal, (a new skill the artist took upon herself to learn,) came to Sage while on a backpacking trip in Medicine Bow Forest. After spending time post-grad in Bend, Oregon, Sullivan felt there was something missing from the beauty of the West Coast, “I felt a yearning for the beautiful aspen trees to see them quake, change into the glorious fall colors, and to glide through their watching eyes on a powder day. I ached for the renowned alpenglow as the sun sets on Mount Werner and finally the famous wild flowers of the Rocky Mountains.”
After responding to a call for artists in the Steamboat Pilot, Sullivan was granted the opportunity to bring her dream to life, selected as the finalist from 20 applications. The Resort had set out to create a symbol of diversity and inclusion, the prompt “What makes you feel welcome outdoors?” Ready to answer the call, Sullivan says, “I really wanted to have an installation that is a commentary rather than a stagnant depiction.”
The design process took a handful of months, as collaboration with the resort commenced. Once Sullivan’s design was approved, her hands were already busy. “I graduated from CSU with a BFA degree, so instead of a business class, I took a sculpture and welding class. For this project, I imagined that I would do as much design or artistic welding as I could, and sub out what I couldn’t. It turned out I have a knack for welding! I decided to get certified and make it official.”
Of her success, Sullivan credits the town she grew up in, “Our small but fierce community was overjoyed and eager to help,” she boasts. “People from all sectors of our community offered their assistance. From labor, to trailers, studio space, advice or just love and support. I even got a few spare room staycation offers.” Despite being backed by life-long connections and local help, there is no easy way to accomplish such a feat. “Living locally did pose big hurdles, like being able to afford studio rent, cost of living and access to materials.” Still, Sullivan recognizes, “I have access to some privileges many young people who move here do not.”
That is where the heart of artist Sage lies, echoed by the meaning of the project. Our community is home to a diverse array of different walks of life, all with the desire to live their life in a beautiful mountain town, at home with the Yampa River and the alpenglow on Mount Werner.
No one Aspen tree stands by itself. The forest that stuns us in the fall is all connected by a shared root network, standing tall as one single living organism.
“5 months post—I think I’m still recovering,” laughs Sullivan, finally able to have a birds eye view of the process. Speaking to a feeling we all know all too well, she states, “I expected contentment and a weight lifted off my shoulders. Instead, I found an inherent pressure to do more or surpass an already great achievement. When the wonderful time of reception, congratulations, and celebration ended, I felt a lot of raw emotion I had put off or pushed through over the year. Finding another project to be as passionate about or top seemed suffocating.” But as is with all art, this project is for the viewers. “It was always to be a commission, but I consider it a gift from our town, to our town… to everyone. My favorite part is going by, just for me, to see that it is still there, seeing it gleaming in the plaza on a bluebird day or blanketed in snow with small bundles of curious people—it refills my creative cup to set out on new projects and wrangle that passion.”
“One Million Branches” watches over all who step onto the slopes, standing as a reminder that we are better together.
// Follow Sage’s work here.
