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All the United States Oregon Baker City The Great Salt Lick

The Great Salt Lick

A bronze replica of half-consumed salt lick honors a quirky town tradition.

Baker City, Oregon

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Michael Inscoe
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Baker City’s salt lick statue.   Whit Deschner/Used with permission
2014 Auction.   Whit Deschner/Used with permission
Salt lick sculpture and friend. August 12, 2022.  
A sculpture from the 2017 contest.   Whit Deschner/Used with permission
“Hoof Arted.”   Baker County Tourism/CC BY-ND 2.0
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
A sculpture from the 2017 contest.   Whit Deschner/Used with permission
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Whit Deschner came up with the idea for the Great Salt Lick Contest when he realized the used salt blocks around his friend’s cabin bore a resemblance to abstract sculptures he’d seen sold for exorbitant amounts of money. He devised a plan to display, judge, and auction off the blocks to benefit Parkinson’s research.

People leave the 50-pound blocks of salt outside, and the artists—horses, cows, deer, and goats—use their tongues to carve them into beautiful works of art. The best works are rewarded with cash prizes, ranging from about $50 to $150. Blocks at the auction can go for even higher sums; the current record is $1800.

The Great Salt Lick Contest and Art Auction has been going strong since 2006. It’s been so successful, the city opted for a public monument to honor the event.

Deschner carved the four-foot sculpture out of styrofoam with a piece of wire attached to a battery charger. It’s a replica of a people's choice winner from a past auction, but he added an extra bump at the top to make it more interactive, giving it the effect of a Henry Moore sculpture. A local sculptor at Blue Mountain Fine Art helped him cast the piece in bronze.

The annual Great Salt Lick Art Auction happens the third Saturday in September in Baker City, Oregon.

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Art Sculptures Animals Auctions Poetry

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Michael Inscoe

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Collector of Experiences, Analogbreakfast

  • Collector of Experiences
  • Analogbreakfast

Published

September 20, 2017

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The Great Salt Lick
Court Plaza
Baker City, Oregon
United States
44.776241, -117.829036
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Baker City

Oregon

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miles away

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Photo of Baker City

Baker City

Oregon

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