Giant statues could make their home at a retreat in Machias

EVERETT — The man is about 15 feet tall and has eight arms, holding a hammer, knives and other tools.

The woman is about 12 feet tall and lifts her hands to reveal spiral patterns on her palms.

Each is bright gold with piercing dark eyes.

The statues have been standing watch in front of a home in south Everett that for 14 years was used as a temple by the Cambodian Buddhist Society Of Prasat Ratanak Baramei.

Now, the temple has closed, the property is being sold to a Christian school and the statues need to be moved.

Erin Gualco has a vision of them in her front yard.

“They’ll be perfect for here,” said Gualco, who along with Danielle Gennety runs Our Sacred Acres, a spiritual retreat in Machias.

It’s just a matter of getting them there.

Barry Sarles bought the 3½-acre Everett property in a foreclosure auction and is selling it to the school. He estimates the statues weigh 3,000 to 4,000 pounds apiece —1½ to 2 tons. Their cores are hollow but they’re made with a heavy plaster and painted gold.

“It takes a crane and a flatbed,” he said.

Sarles lives in Lynnwood and has an insurance business in Everett. He buys and sells real estate on the side.

He advertised the statues on Craigslist, offering them for free to anyone who could round up the equipment capable of hauling them off.

He’s had calls from more than 20 interested parties, but so far none have come through with the right rigs.

“Everybody wants cool stuff for free,” Sarles said. “They’re gorgeous, in perfect condition.”

One group said they had the equipment to move the statues but wound up taking only the two smaller, lion-like gargoyles that stood in front of the male figure, he said.

“It was a scam,” Sarles said.

Gualco saw the statues on Craigslist but they’d been claimed by that time, she said. After the lions were removed, Sarles again posted an ad offering the statues for free.

“I just happened to get on right after he had reposted it,” Gualco said. She called and Sarles promised the statues to her if she could get them moved.

Gualco is working to round up help and Sarles said she has first dibs.

“There’s other people on hold until she can get it together or not,” he said. “At this time, she’s Numero Uno.”

Our Sacred Acres provides space for people to get quiet and connect with their spirituality through nature, the women said.

“We honor every expression of spirituality, whatever that may be, and I see these (statues) as a unifying force,” Gennety said.

They’ll bring that along in more ways than one.

They’re located at the end of Valhalla Drive. Votive candles bearing images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, commonly found at Latino markets, have been left at the feet of each figure.

According to one online post about Khmer culture, “baramei” means aura or glow.

That describes the male figure to a “T”, Gualco said.

“It has such an energy,” she said.

The spirals on the female statue’s palms fit the theme of one part of Our Sacred Acres, called the Spiral House, Gualco said.

“One of the core values that I carry is balancing polarities and dualities, and the masculine and feminine is important to me,” Gennety said. The statues, she said, “just spoke to my heart.”

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; bsheets@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.