ST. GEORGE — While the installation of a giant whale in a Salt Lake City roundabout evoked much curiosity, the emergence of a sleeping dragon in historic downtown St. George might also make waves.

Deveren Farley, an artist who not only commissioned the statement dragon art piece but also seven other art sculptures that have been featured around the St. George area, told St. George News that the meaning of the dragon sculpture derives from enduring a loss. 

Titled Dad and constructed out of Utah license plates, Farley’s sculpture, installed in the roundabout at 200 North and Main Street on April 9, stands approximately 12 feet tall and over 8 feet wide, with a length from head to tail spanning 18 feet.

The idea for the piece came after Farley’s father’s death in May 2021. With Art Around the Corner in mind, he said he wanted to create something to honor his father, who had unknowingly served as a guide as he began his artistic pursuits. 

“With him passing, I wanted to do something that represented him,” Farley said. “Thinking of my dad, there are two things – dragons and Disney. With the large art piece, he’s a sleeping dragon, so the whole meaning behind it is that my dad is now resting in peace. He is my dad in a way, that’s why his name is ‘Dad.’”

The idea of using license plates to construct the dragon emerged while visiting the Salt Lake City evidence department to provide a bid for bars on windows through his ironwork business. He said he saw all the scrap metal that was at the facility, including license plates that had to be cut up. It took about a year for him to convince the department to allow him to have the scrap pieces for his art. He said he promised he would turn the donated scraps into something that would live on forever.

“Every four to five months they call me up, and I’ll go pick up a load about the size of the back of my truck,” Farley said.

Farley said along with the license plates, he also receives a variety of small scrap items, such as fingernail clippers and tweezers, which he said he assumes come from women’s purses that are confiscated and never claimed. After 90 days, the police are required to dispose of any unclaimed items, and they are subsequently taken apart piece by piece.

Every flashlight, for example, has to be unscrewed and taken apart in individual pieces, which leads to him getting bins full of a variety of unique items. License plates have been his favorite so far, allowing him to manipulate them into larger pieces of art. 

Farley constructs his art pieces at his home in Lindon, Utah, then transports them to their final destinations with his trailer. He also said he widened the ceiling on his home shop to allow for bigger pieces to be commissioned, adding that he commissioned the dragon piece to perfectly fit his trailer so he could transport the art in one piece, as opposed to transporting it in pieces and putting it back together at its destination.

“When I transport large art, I get very entertaining reactions,” Farley said. “At least 50% of the people passing us would either wave to us, give us a thumbs up, or they would pass us, slow way down, and you could see them getting their phones ready so they can take pictures. It’s pretty funny.”

Farley encouraged the community to also go by and see the dragon piece at night, where he said car headlights turn the piece into what feels like a whole new sculpture, as the light reflects off the license plates, making the entire piece glow. 

The dragon art piece, Dad, is currently on sale for $34,000. To inquire about the purchase of this piece, click here.

The installation of Dad arrived at the tail-end of another roundabout art piece that has received much attention in Salt Lake City. Out of the Blue, a massive whale sculpture designed by the Utah artist Stephen Kesler, was installed within the center of a roundabout located at 900 South and 1100 East, according to a KSL.com article.

The sudden presence of the marine mammal had people asking: why a whale? Kesler said in an arts council news release about the sculpture that the piece represents the surrounding community, in which people from all walks of life have established respect for others’ diverse ideas and identities.

“(It) is unexpected and out of the blue. A community where people from all backgrounds, beliefs and ideas migrate and feel a sense of belonging,” he said, according to the KSL.com article.

Additional St. George art by Farley

Aside from the license plates he used in his past art pieces, Farley said he has also repurposed street signs, referring to the “butt” of the spider piece he created that once had its home in a downtown St. George roundabout.

He said his friend, who owns Acme Construction in Salt Lake, donates signs from leftover construction to assist with these types of pieces. The spider art piece has since been purchased by Morgan Pest Control, with its permanent location at their pest control office location in St. George.

“The spider was so controversial – 50% of the people in the community hated it,” said Farley, when discussing the public’s reaction to the giant spider sculpture formally displayed on Main Street.

He was initially inspired to create the spider during a craft show he attended in Midway, Utah, where he sold small metal spiders in the spirit of the Halloween season. He said attendees of the show actually avoided his booth and made comments like, “Ew, spiders,”  a reaction that he found humorous and inspired him to make a large one for St. George, just to see the reaction the piece would get from the community.

“I love the reactions, whether it’s good or bad. I think it’s hilarious,” Farley said. “That’s kind of the joy, the fun of it.”

Farley said he’s been part of the Art Around the Corner project for about 15 years. He said his first art piece for Art Around the Corner was in 2009, featuring a sculpture of eight guitars, which the city purchased. With the dragon and the spider sculptures being two art pieces many locals may remember due to their stature, Farley said he’s now had a total of seven art pieces featured around St. George. 

Fiesta Fun Center was interested in the same spider art piece as the one purchased by Morgan Pest control, so he built another one specifically for them. This piece now sits on the Fiesta Fun Centers’ mini-golf course.

Among other art pieces, Farley commissioned a 20-foot guitar, which was also once in a downtown roundabout and now has its permanent residency at Town Square Park. Red Rock Cycling has a sculpture by Farley of a bicycle titled, Downhill.  He also had a snake art piece that was in a roundabout roughly three years ago, which was made of license plates, similar to the new dragon piece.

The story behind the art

When Farley was 14, he said he wanted to build a go-cart. His sister decided to take a metal shop class her senior year and insisted he take metal shop the following year, which would have been his first year of high school. At the time, he was mostly interested in building a go-cart, so during his freshman year of high school in Northern California, he took the metal shop class and that’s where he fell in love with art and the creative outlet it provided.

His shop teacher, Steve Hamilton, allowed him to have complete freedom in creating any type of art he wanted. Since both Farley and his father loved dragons, he decided to build a dragon for his dad. He built his first smaller dragon at that time, roughly 1 foot wide. He entered this dragon piece in the California State Fair, where it won a prize.

During his sophomore year, he built a larger dragon, measuring 3 feet tall, which won Best of Show at the California State Fair, along with a variety of other awards. Farley added that he is yet to build a go-cart.

After returning from his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints mission, Farley said he decided to build a business doing ironwork for houses. He moved to Utah around this time to be closer to his wife’s family and slowly worked his way back into art.

It was originally the St. George Parade of Homes that gave him the push he needed. His mother-in-law, an interior designer, was working on a home for Ron Jensen in St. George, which had a large staircase that needed something that would fit in the middle of it.

After she asked Farley to design something to fit the space, he created an art piece that depicted eight musical instruments, which was also featured in a parade home that same year. Farley said that Ron Jensen’s wife, who was a part of the Art Around the Corner committee at the time, was the one that suggested he enter Art Around the Corner – and that’s how it all began.

Farley currently owns and operates his full-time business, UTV Mountain Accessories, where he builds cages for side-by-sides, but hopes that one day he’ll be able to do his real passion – art – full time. He also said he has been in discussions with another Utah city about possibly doing a commissioned piece. For this, he said he hopes to create a full-size wooly mammoth, with the fur made completely of street signs.

For more information about Farley, click here. For art inquiries and additional imagery, visit “Deverenbfarleyart” on Instagram.

Art Around the Corner Foundation

According to its website, the Art Around the Corner Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the arts, enriching the community and bringing fine arts to the heart of historic St. George and other extended gallery sites. Formally known as the Dixie Arts Foundation and the Pioneer Center for the Arts Foundation, the Art Around the Corner Foundation was originally formed in 1988.

For the last 17 years, The Art Around the Corner Foundation has brought in work from artists around the country to be displayed in an outdoor sculpture gallery, with the majority of the art being located at the heart of St. George’s Historic Downtown. Thirty-one new sculptures were just installed, setting the stage for a beautiful walk full of art, creativity and wonder.

Marianne Hamilton, a board member with Art Around the corner since 2015, told St. George News that every September they send out a call for entries to artists all over the country. Artists submit their art concepts through an online portal that is open for two months, with a cut-off date around Halloween.

She said that they spend the month of November going through the submissions in board meetings and subcommittee meetings, where the final art pieces are chosen. Artists then have about four months to complete their art pieces. 

Artists whose pieces are featured in the outdoor gallery loan their art to the foundation for a period of one year, in hopes that they will be purchased by an admiring art collector. Each year, the art is rotated out and new art is installed.

“We feel extremely fortunate that this community supports the arts and appreciates the value,” Hamilton said. “We couldn’t do what we do without the support of the city. It’s just so gratifying to see people walking around, giggling and pointing and taking pictures and selfies with the sculptures.”

Hamilton said it’s the year-round effort from many passionate volunteers that allows the art to continue. She also mentioned the new utility box wrappers that are being done around the art district, along with several murals and wanted the community to know they also feature art at St. George Regional Hospital.

“Our charter has expanded from 3D sculptures to 2D murals and utility box artwork,” she said. “We’re really excited that we’re receiving the support to make even more art available to the community.” 

The community is invited to enjoy the full Art Around the Corner experience by downloading the 2022 Art around the Corner walking map here. To learn more about the Art Around the Corner Foundation and to see a full list of available art, click here.

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