The 35-foot driftwood seahorse sculpture has been replaced in front of the Ocean Shores Convention Center.

Snapped at its 8-by-8 wooden center beam by a storm last March, the city/public art project was hoisted by Grays Harbor PUD workers into the base along Chance a la Mer in front of the Convention Center.

Supervising artist Dan Klennert two years ago donated his time and expertise in building several driftwood sculptures, including the massive seahorse, which Mayor Crystal Dingler said had become “an icon of the city.”

After the damage from storm, Klennert began to reconstruct the pieces, but essentially created an entire new sculpture at a house his brother owns on Ocean Shores Boulevard. This one also has a more secure center beam, Klennert said, which should not be as susceptible to wind.

Some of the driftwood even came from around his home in Elbe near Mount Rainier.

“This is actually a twin,” Klennert said of the seahorse that blew down. “Essentially, I built a whole new one.”

This one even has eyes.

His brother, he noted, owns a three-story house, so he could build the new seahorse on the ground and then go up and look at it from the top floor to see its full shape and appearance as he attached the new pieces.

Klennert is most known for his “Spirit of Iron” Sculpture Park in Ashford near the entrance to Mount Rainier National Park.

His sculptures have been displayed all across North America. His online bio lists several noted pieces:

“Bloodline, his larger than life-size thoroughbred created almost entirely out of horse shoes, and Cleopatra, a life-size mare welded together from bits of scrap metal, charmed thousands at the Thoroughbred Breeders Association Equine Art Show. Oscar the fish eighteen feet long and twelve feet high was the catch of the day at the Salmon Days Festival in Issaquah, Washington. “The Angel from Hell” is a skeleton of a human riding a chopper motorcycle all made from junk. This piece was a big hit when displayed during the motorcycle convention in Sturgis, South Dakota.”

Other works made by Klennert have been or are currently on display in Santa Fe, NM, Phoenix, AZ, Grand Junction, CO, Salt Lake City, UT, Moab, UT, Portland, and throughout Washington state.”

You can visit Daniel Klennerts website here: http://danielklennert.com/