Libby's Adamson pens book about 'Easy' statue
Libby's Ron Adamson with his 'Easy' statue in Winslow, Arizona. (Courtesy photo)
Well known Libby artist, wood carver and sculptor, Ron Adamson, has branched out into a new area in the arts with a soon to be released book.
The Road To Winslow: The Making Of The Easy Statue is the true story of Adamson's life, before and since he created Easy, the statue that is his vision of the 1970s guy in the Eagles song, "Take It Easy."
The song inspired a tribute park in Winslow to the Eagles and the song because of the line "I'm standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona..."
Townsfolk noticed a pattern of tourists stopping on random corners around town to have their photos taken, so a group of residents decided to create an official corner.
This September marks the 25th anniversary of the installation of the Easy statue and opening of the park, so Adamson's book commemorates that event, and is a memoir of his family history and his life as an artist and family man.
It is a tale that spans two continents and ends at 2nd Street and Kinsey in Winslow, a town that Adamson views as a "sister city" to Libby. Both towns enjoyed great prosperity in their heyday until the building of the Interstate bypassed Route 66 and Winslow, and Libby suffered a long period of hardship due to being named a Superfund site.
Among other topics, the book explores the role of creative tourism as a means to help a town recover from such hardship.
The book retails for $20, and will be available in time for the 25th anniversary celebration of the Standin' on the Corner Park in Winslow, or early October.
Adamson is taking pre-orders through his website ronadamson.com, through email at rja@ronadamson.com or can be messaged through his Facebook page.