Local Steamboat artist Sage Sullivan welcomed her newest art installation to the Steamboat Resort on Wednesday with a special dedication to those lost in the community over the years — including her mother, Terri Sullivan.

Before the year-long building process, Sage proposed her work to Steamboat Resort in 2022. Among 20 other artists spread out across North America, Sullivan was selected after a month-long process asking entrants to answer the prompt “What Makes You Feel Welcome in The Outdoors?”

Growing up in Steamboat Springs, Sage attended Steamboat Springs High School, and soon after, earned a degree in fine art drawing from Colorado State University. Out of the 20 submissions, Sage was the only true local to Steamboat Springs and Colorado, driving her initial inspiration for the piece.

“When I was living in Oregon, there weren’t many aspen trees, we were on the other side of the Cascades so we couldn’t see the alpen glow, and the wildflowers were different. And so, those were all of the things that I would look forward to when I was coming home to visit,” Sage said.

With the help of her brothers, Bryce and Sean Sullivan, Sage completed the build over a span of a year with a vision to create a piece representing the inclusive and reflective nature of the Yampa Valley.

The sculpture reflects four main components brilliantly tying together the unique lifestyles, natural beauty and cultural histories of the valley.

“They all were really kind of cyclical and related to one another,” Sage said.

Sage, who lost her mother Terri to pancreatic cancer in September, dedicates her hard work and craftsmanship to those who have been lost in the community in recent years. Individuals like Lacey Lewis, Nick Simon, Caroline Lupori and her mother “embodied every part of Steamboat,” she explained.

“They were all super Steamboat, outdoorsy people simply living their passions,” Sage said.

While her mother never got to experience the finished product, Sage and Terri shared cherished moments reviewing the initial plans and drawings that would one day become the masterpiece that is “One Million Branches.”

As of Wednesday, “One Million Branches” stands at the center of Steamboat Resort’s Gondola Transit Center. Sage was joined by her brothers, along with several other spectators and resort representatives during the opening ceremony Wednesday, welcoming the installation to the mountain.

When asked what emotions she hopes to evoke from the sculpture, Sage replied “I want people to be drawn in but then maybe they get to find their own thing about it that no one else has seen yet. Every time I’ve shown it to someone or talked about it, or they’ve seen the sculpture lately, everyone tells me something new that they see or that I haven’t thought of before. And that’s exactly the whole point.

“Hopefully it is something that when you see from far away, you want to come up and explore,” Sage mentioned in regards to not only the mountain, but the adventurous and friendly lifestyle reflected throughout the Yampa Valley and its community members.