THE ARTISTS AT BAD RIVER ARTWORKS have a goal in mind when making artwork: to reach people, to move people, and to make people think. Sherri Treeby and Lee Leuning create sculptures that do just that. They are also the owners of Bad River Artworks, and they are known for their lifelike sculptures with great attention to detail.

    This is a team in the truest sense. Sherri does the form and figure of each piece, and Lee focuses on details and any of the wildlife aspects of their projects. It is a productive combination that has created 28 life-sized bronze sculptures and other works that are displayed not only throughout South Dakota but also in Virginia, Colorado, California, Iowa and other places across the country.

    In addition to their artistic talents, Sherri and Lee have led lives rich in other experiences with significant contributions to the world around them.

    Sherri has taught art at Aberdeen Central High School for the last ten years. Despite her artistic successes, she believes that teaching will be her fundamental legacy. “By teaching kids about art I hope to instill in them the love of creativity,” she explained. “I want my students to pursue art careers and to stick around Aberdeen.”

    Sherri is convinced that Aberdeen possesses the same artistic qualities found in other cities around the country. She dreams, for example, that our community could create a sculpture display like the one in downtown Sioux Falls. “That sculpture walk brings in business,” she said. “Investing in the arts pays off because people flock to art centers. There are tourists, there is beauty, and there is also a sense of community pride when arts become a focus.”

    Although Lee’s residence is in Pierre, the Bad River art duet wanted their business in Aberdeen. “We started as sculptors during studies at Northern with Lynn Carlsgaard,” Lee said, “and it felt right to keep sculpting here.” 

    Lee is recently retired from South Dakota’s Department of Game, Fish and Parks, where he served as a game warden in the Aberdeen and Pierre areas. He also did undercover work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, helping break a bear poaching ring in the Smoky Mountains and a deer poaching operation in western South Dakota. Those experiences help shape his work, particularly his eye for detail on wildlife-related pieces.

    After a career in the outdoors, Lee loves Bad River’s location on a remote part of Richmond Lake. “It is the perfect place for me. I need a big dose of being outside, the view from our studio is unimpeded, and the solitude of the place is great.”

    As I wandered through their gallery, examining downsized versions of ongoing projects, I learned the pair is busy working on multiple commissions simultaneously. Lee tells of unending 14-hour days where he is focused on a variety of projects. These include their seventh sculpture of a United States president that will be displayed in Rapid City’s “City of Presidents” project. They are also working on Central High School’s bronze eagle, and their greatly anticipated Vietnam War Memorial sculpture will be unveiled this September in Pierre during what has been forecast to be the biggest commemorative party South Dakota has ever seen.

    One of their most formidable challenges is to create 100 Bull Dogs made of a resin-composite coating for James Madison University. Local residents and artists of Harrisonburg, Virginia, home of James Madison, will decorate the likenesses of the university’s mascots which will then be installed all around the community.

    “Art is what we love,” exclaimed Sherri, as I asked about the burdens of so many projects. “I eat, sleep, and drink art because it’s engrained in me, and I believe it is a gift.”

    Lee talked about the rewards of doing art, and he recounted a story of how their World War II sculpture in Pierre prompted a revealing reaction from a skateboarder who was wheeling by. “This kid suddenly stopped and flipped his skateboard into his hands,” he explained, “and then he crisply and respectfully saluted the sculpture of a Native American soldier. This is the sort of response to our work that helps us to know that we’ve done our job.”

   “When I die,” Lee mused, “I won’t need a tombstone because my monuments are all over the place.”