Winter 2017 LOCALadk Magazine 49
LOCALadk
I am LOCALadk
Tim Behuniak
Matt Horner
Where are you from?
South Korea, but I was adopted when I was five and moved to the
Westchester area.
When did you first come to the Adirondacks?
I grew up going to Brant Lake in the Adirondacks for Boy Scout
Camp – since I was around five or six years old. Camp is where I was
first introduced to climbing. Then, after high school, I enrolled in the
Wilderness Rec Program at North Country Community College and
lived in Saranac Lake in my 20s, for five or six years.
What is your profession?
I am a sculptor and a guide. I sculpt rock and metal year round, and
guide ice climbing for Rock and River in the winter.
How did your sculpting career begin?
I was caretaking a property in Keene Valley, and I was hardscaping
– building walls and doing other stonework. I wanted a different
challenge so after seeing sculpting in a book, I surprised the prop-
erty owner with a birdbath – my first sculpted piece. A friend of his
bought it soon after, which started my career. After my first piece, I
started small, with bowls, and then moved to sculpture. I use locally
sourced stone.
What is your favorite piece?
My favorite piece is the newest piece. My style is always changing
and I try to incorporate new material, like steel, which makes each
piece different from the last.
Why do you prefer ice climbing over rock climbing?
Rock will always be there. When you climb a rock route, you know
that the next day the moves will be the same. But ice is ephemeral
– it's a changing medium. Each day the same route can be slightly
different.
