Giant 'troll' to be built in Solvang after local museum commissions artist

Solvang will soon have its own "troll" installed at the California Nature Art Museum.

Renowned Danish artist Thomas Dambo has been commissioned to create what the museum calls in a press release "its most ambitious project to date": the first permanent giant troll in California.

Museum officials say Dambo is known for using recycled materials to create large, whimsical trolls around the world, adding in a press release that the commissioned project "will quickly become a major visitor attraction in the Santa Ynez Valley and beyond."

California Nature Art Museum Executive Director Stacey Otte-Demangate told KSBY that organizers hope the art piece will be a staple of the Central Coast.

"I think it's going to be such an amazing tourist attraction for our whole community. People travel all over the world to go find his trolls. He creates troll maps so people can find them, and I think it's just going to be a real boon, honestly, to our whole community," Otte-Demangate said.

The museum has reportedly raised $120,000 to build the troll and still needs another $180,000 to complete the campaign.

Officials say they are also looking for dozens of old pallets and barrels to assist in the troll's construction.

The California Nature Art Museum has more information about the upcoming project on its website .