Olancha Sculpture Garden by Jael Hoffman – Highway 395, CA

U.S. Highway 395 has to be one of our favorite roads for road-tripping. There are so many things to see along that way that you can spend months on one short stretch alone. One of those things is the off-the-beaten-path Olancha Sculpture Garden, a unique philosophy of life by Jael (Yah-el) Hoffmann.

STATS:
Where:
Jael Hoffmann’s Olancha Sculpture Garden – Olancha, CA 93549
Coordinates: 36°15’43.81″N 117°59’50.88″W

Hours: There is no gate, so it basically opens 24/7.

Fee: It is free to enter but feels free to bring something to trade at the “Give and Take” sculpture.

Parking: a good size dirt lot

Restroom: Nope

Estimated Completion Time: Probably around 30 – 45 minutes, unless you love taking photos like us.

Ideal Weather: Cooler weather is best. There is no shade.

Ideal Time: morning or evening would provide you with the best lighting for photos but it is a fun stop anytime.

Dog-friendly: Your pooch can get out to stretch with you, but please make sure to clean up after them. The ground can get very hot in the summer so keep an eye on your precious baby’s paws.

THE ADVENTURE:

As we sped our way along highway 395 toward Lake Tahoe for some kayaking, I caught something out of the corner of my eye and asked Dustin “did you see that?” We decided to turn around. This was how we stumbled upon the Olancha Sculpture Garden, the heart and soul of Jael Hoffmann.

If you are heading to Lake Tahoe from San Diego, it is on the left-hand side of Highway 395. You’ll see the sculptures immediately as soon as you turn on the small dirt road. The sculptures are sprinkled around the desert landscape. Each of them has a different hidden message, some more obvious than others.

One of Jael’s first and tallest sculptures is an unknown hitchhiker. She is the first thing you’ll see as you pass through the area on Highway 395. The hitchhiker is carrying a suitcase, wearing a wrench as her necklace. The suitcase represents all the baggage that we carry through our life’s journey. The sculpture also has a sense of female empowerment and a feeling of personal freedom; as she’s waiting there with her wrench, ready for whatever life decides to throw at her.

Another famous one is the Give and Take sculpture. It has instructions that read: “Give and Take. Put something in the Give container then retrieve something from the Take container. You can give without taking, But not the other way around. If you choose to take without giving, the mirror will make you face yourself and the eyes will follow you forever and ever. Just like in real life.”

One of my favorite ones is Home. It is a sculpture of a person, pulling demons out of their own stomach and observing them. According to Jael, this is about understanding your own demons, your center, your Home. Instead of letting your own inner demons overwhelm you, you can take a step back, observe and understand your own demons.

One of the most controversial pieces here is the Veil of Secrecy. It is a commentary on all the sanctified pedophilia cases that came to light and the efforts of covering them for fear of membership/power loss. The ripples on the cloak depict the effect the heinous acts, not only toward the innocent children, but they are also affecting their families and the communities.

A major point in Jael Hoffman’s philosophical insights is that “whatever you create is contingent on who you are, meaning how you live your life, outside of art-making directly informs the manifestation of ideas. Therefore, living is as much a part of art, as the work process thereof.”

In regards to the Olancha Sculpture Garden, Jael has written: “Sculpture gardens facilitate access to art. The rugged environments my sculptures chose to inhabit are not coincidental, but supportive of their unadorned messages.”

We were lucky enough to be able to meet with Jael on our second visit. She came out to greet us with Ono, one of her puppies. She invited us back to her house for coffee and to meet her other puppy, Charlie, the chihuahua. It was such a pleasant surprise to meet with Jael. She’s such an amazing, sweet, yet one badass lady. She was very captivating to talk to.

Jael shared her struggles about her life, her philosophy, and her art. Being off-grid, she had to build and take care of everything on her own. It was amazing to see all the things that she had created for herself, including a little garden in the backyard. Everything about her place is very thoughtful yet full of personality and colorful. Since Olancha is known as the land of wind, Jael’s has not only struggled with keeping her house upright, but she has had to put lots of thought into keeping her sculptures safe from the wind. All the sculptures have a heavy metal i-beam foundation to keep them from falling down.

As for her sculptures, she uses a MIG welding technique. She also spends a ridiculous amount of time grinding down all the welding beads and connecting lines to make her sculptures perfect. She cut everything by hand with an acetylene torch. Jael doesn’t sketch anything out before sculpting, she does it all from her mind. Her attention to detail is exceptional. Most of the pieces are representing part of her life story. They are inspirational because they represent our quests on confronting our own demons and the perseverance on difficult situations. Nowadays, Jael focuses on jewelry and a new technique to adds stained glass to metal sculptures. She created these unique sculptures with stained glass that glows when the light shines from behind it. Below are some of the questions we asked Jael:

Q. Do you have a favorite piece?
A. Currently, my favorite piece in the Olancha Sculpture Garden is ‘Tzu Jan -Constant Change’. It was inspired by an interview with ancient Chinese poetry translator David Hinton. He describes existence as an ongoing generative present in which things appear and disappear in the process of change. The constant birthing goes on both in the physical world and in human consciousness, “for consciousness is a much a part of this process as surf or a rainstorm or blossoms in an almond orchard.”

Q. When did you start making sculptures?
A. Probably around 2009. Started out silversmithing and somehow making miniature sculptures with brass, copper and sterling silver. The dimensions grew with metalwork in conjunction with the realization that sometimes size matters, especially when pertinent ideas beg for an ‘in your face’ effect.

Q. Where do you find your inspiration?
A. In the fertilized soil of living well.

Q. Do you have any plans for future sculptures or locations?
A. Yes, always more ideas for sculptures; the garden is a work in progress.

Q. Do you have any other info that you think would be neat for the article?
A. One of the sculptures in the garden, Give and Take, is a gift exchange between visitors and myself (and, on occasion, my daughter). We give handmade things and receive whatever the giver feels like. It’s heart-warming to see how some people give thoughtfully, although no one will congratulate them on doing so.

Q. If you have any info for specific pieces we would love to include it next to our photos as well. I’d be happy to send you all of the shots that we got so you can have them as well!
A. Each piece has specific info to go along with it. Overall, the sculptures point to internal landscapes/are meant to facilitate access to the subconscious forces that pull our strings.

If you are traveling along Highway 395, you should definitely stop by to check out Olancha Sculpture Garden. Some other cool spots along this infamous road are Mono Lake, Hot Creek Geological Site. If you’re heading up to Tahoe, don’t forget to check out our blog for Kayaking at Sand Harbor and hike to Chimney Beach.

Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, subscribe to our Youtube channel, and sign up for our newsletter!

RECOMMEND GEAR:

Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.

•  Sunscreen:
We use eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen, Alba Botanica Hawaiian Sunscreen or Sun Bum Sunscreen.

•  Water
It’s pretty hot out. You’ll want some water.

CAMERA GEAR:
•  Camera:
    Sony a7 III
   GoPro Hero 7 Black

•  Lenses:
   Sony 24 -70mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T Zoom Lens 
   Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX   

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