Santa Rosa artists struggle with vandalism, destruction of sculptures on Cloverdale trail

The first time, it was sadness. The second time, it was confusion.

Peter Crompton and Robyn Spencer-Crompton still are struggling with how they feel after two of their sculptures on the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail, a poodle and a chess knight with a large horse head, were knocked over and destroyed.

The pieces were vandalized months apart, on Aug. 20 and Oct. 15.

The two art pieces, which were meticulously converted from stage props or parts of a set to sturdy outdoor fixtures, now lie in pieces in the couple’s driveway.

Two of the poodle’s severed legs sit next to where they were once attached on the great orange and blue sculpture. Its disconnected tail also lies near the area where it once was connected.

The horse head of the almost 900-pound chess piece is on its side, while the base remains standing. Large slanted cracks are in both, exposing the guts of Styrofoam and the surrounding fiberglass mesh and concrete that form the area where the two parts used to fit together.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Spencer-Crompton said.

“You expect a certain amount of animosity to things you put up,” Crompton added. “You could put up a sculpture of a dog and some people will still dislike it, but you never really expect it to go as far as destroying it.”

The acts of vandalism have also baffled the organizers of the sculpture trail and multiple members of the community, who see the pieces as extensions of the center of the small town.

The Cloverdale Police Department issued a Nixle alert Oct. 23 asking for help in tracking down the perpetrators.

The involved parties are working hard to show that this isn’t the end – especially for the sculptures themselves.

“Initially I was so disappointed that I didn't really think I wanted to rebuild it at all,” Crompton said. “It's only through the dogged perseverance of my wife... that just in the last day or two, I've decided to do that.”

‘It felt like we were being targeted’

The acts of vandalism on the trail came in waves, according to the Cloverdale Police Department.

The first report came in July 8. Someone had poured orange paint on the mainly orange tail of the poodle, located in front of the Cloverdale Arts Alliance building at 204 N Cloverdale Blvd.

It was an easy fix, Spencer-Crompton said.

Then, a little over a month later, the married couple got the call that the poodle had been knocked over, along with another large steel sculpture, “Tidal Wave,” on the corner of Cloverdale Boulevard and Third Street.

Fortunately, the steel piece had minimal damage, which its creator, Diego Harris, was able to buff out. But, the Cromptons’ “Celestial Poodle” wasn’t so lucky.

“It just kind of pops your bubble,” Spencer-Crompton said. “You think you're doing something really nice, you know, sharing something with a world that is positive and uplifting.

“I really don't understand what prompts people to want to destroy things, especially those where the only intention with them is beautiful,” she added. “It's not like it's a political piece. … It's just sort of cute, light and non-threatening.”

About two months later, the vandalism happened again. This time, it was “The Knight” at Cloverdale Boulevard and Citrus Fair Drive that had cracked.

“It felt like we were being targeted,” Crompton said. “I just don't understand it. It’s sort of like coming to terms with something that just doesn't make any sense.”

“It’s not an accident,” Spencer-Crompton said.

The destruction of the two sculptures and toppling of a third is unlike anything the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail has seen before, said trail coordinator Janet Howell.

“It's been almost 20 years and we have never experienced any kind of damage like this,” she said.

The Cloverdale police are still searching for the suspects and unfortunately do not have a lot of leads, Chief Jason Ferguson said, which is why the department put out the announcement asking residents to “Help us protect our city’s artistic treasures.”

“These acts not only deface our cultural heritage but also disrupt our sense of security and pride in our community,” Ferguson said. “Preservation of this art must remain a priority, which is why the police seek to apprehend the persons responsible.”

‘Part of their history’

Part of the reason why Crompton was hesitant at first to rebuild the statues was because of all the work that went into creating them.

For the poodle, it was much more laborious than Spencer-Crompton and her husband initially signed up for.

The initial Styrofoam set piece from “Jesus Christ Superstar” was reshaped and then a fiberglass mesh, along with a couple inches of concrete mixed with polymers, were added to the outside. The inside was reinforced with PVC pipe and steel.

Then, after the concrete dried for the outside, a mosaic was added, which required the Cromptons to then chip away at the dried-out, hardened concrete about an hour each day for a few months in order to fix the small glass pieces across the sculpture.

Their creation of “The Knight” was almost just as painstaking, with more mosaic work, which included the couple’s wedding rings and initials, tacked onto the sides.

The rebuild is going to be taxing, Crompton said, partially because he and his wife will be working for months on something they thought was done.

It will require chipping away the area around the already cracked spaces and reinforcing each piece with more steel, including a steel base for the knight.

Crompton said he wants to in some way acknowledge the places they were broken, as a part of the continuing conversation the pieces are having with the public.

“When we do rebuild them,” he said, “we have to make that part of their history.”

Though it will be a long time before they can stand on their own again, Spencer-Crompton said she had always believed it would be worth it to build them up again.

“I don't really want to let vandals with ill intent govern their existence,” she said. “I think they deserve to come back to life.“

Cloverdale Sculpture Trail

The loss of the sculptures is a blow to the sculpture trail and the community, trail coordinator Howell said.

The trail began about 20 years ago and ever since has attracted new creations, every few years, to Cloverdale.

People recognize the sculptures. Some try to make their marks in them. Some like to interact further with the art and try to get on top of them, as many kids did with “Celestial Poodle.”

Crompton and Spencer-Crompton considered the area and the trail a very welcoming place for artists.

Now, it feels like the trust inherent in the small community has been broken. As a result, Howell said, there will likely be some changes.

The trail will seek grants to fund security camera stations around the sculptures.

Howell said she’ll approach the city to see if certain pieces can be bolted down. In the future, those selecting the pieces may also have to consider the artwork’s durability and need for protection, Howell said.

It’s important that public art remain alive in Cloverdale, Howell said, which is why the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center has collected and is collecting donations to for a reward for individuals who provide information on the vandalism cases.

Crompton and Spencer-Crompton said they are still thinking about whether they will submit more of their pieces for the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail. It depends on whether security changes are made and, if the ones who vandalized their art are caught.

“If they can resolve the issues, then yes,” said Spencer-Crompton when asked if their art would return to the trail. “If it's just as it stands now, where you're just putting it out there, you have to expect that it'll be destroyed.”

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.