flume

Located in the Oak Tree Park north end meadow bracketed by the playground and South 74^th Street, flume is a landmark environmental sculpture with landscaping.  Conceived as a split weathering steel pipe with regional flora and fauna waterjet cut into the upper edges, the piece frames a indigenous landscape filled with blue flowering plants (blue camas, common blue-cup, Blue-eyed Mary, etc).  

The piece would be constructed as a pair of large weathering steel plates rolled into semi-circular ‘brackets’ to form a flume-like ark.  Flowing through the middle of the piece would be a ‘stream’ of blue-themed flowering plants & grasses framed with smaller boulders & berms, giving the whole piece the sense of a boat-like structure flowing down a river.

Incised in the upper 3^rd of each pipe-like bracket would be depictions of flora & fauna native to the area & Garry Oak habitat.  Like our recently-completed Vancouver BC project, earthgrove this lifeform latticework can be read against the sky as a map with a corresponding deciphering website such as www.earthgrove.net  

Overall scale would be ½” thick cor-ten @ roughly 10-12’ long x 6-7’ high.  Alternate location might be quarry.  Need to develop a low/no maintenance plant list of native flowering perennials, grasses and low shrubs.  Drought-tolerant and bee-friendly are bonuses.     

boulder bike racks

Located adjacent the entry to Oak Tree Park’s quarry and trailside within South Park, boulder bike racks offer a functional artwork allowing trail riders to secure their bikes while they explore each park on foot.  Designed as a split boulder connected by a coil of steel pipe for bike lock attachment, the piece whimsically elicits associations with things like old phones or Slinkies. 

Envision these as functional trail markers, bookends for the Water Flume Line Trail, with one located at the entry to Oak Tree Park and the other somewhere around the  intersection of 56^th & South Tacoma Way.  These would act both as wayfinders and an invitation to riders to pause along the way and explore Oak Tree Park on one end and the South Park area on the other. 

Again, the concept & material palette is pretty simple & rustic.  Two split boulders connected by a ‘coil’ of rolled steel pipe.  Engraved fossils & text could be incised in each boulder to provide some more metaphoric layering to the park/trail puzzle.  Overall scale of each element would be roughly 3’ high by 12-16’ long.

bio boulders

Placed in the middle of the renovated quarry near the entry to the trail network in Oak Tree Park, a mammoth singular boulder (6-8’ high) or a pair of large boulders (4-5’ high) would act as an iconic centerpiece for the surrounding berms and groves.  The stone would be incised with a series of ‘hieroglyphic fossils’ arranged as a constellational narrative band running horizontally around the girth.  Functioning as an anchor storyline, bio boulders provide interpretive wayfinding for park users that can be touchstone for revealed meanings over multiple visits.

A way to extend the concept would be to site 2-3 additional boulders in the meadow adjacent the playground next to South 74^th Street.  Another high-visibility location would be on the new turf island in the parking lot.  Some thought given to color-coding all artwork with shades of blue as well.  The overall effect should be monumental and intimate, subtle and clear, simple and ornate.  A mirror of the natural world it inhabits.

flow

Conceived as a material dialog in naturalistic form, thematic color and narrative streams, flow is a multi-media environmental artwork for Oak Tree Park and Water Flume Line Trail.  Creating multiple esthetic elements that range from iconic landmarks to small moments, the overall intent is to weave a story about daily journeys we share with our fellow inhabitants.  The conceptual core of the project is the infrastructural idea that water is the source of life in its many forms on our small blue planet.  

What I’d like to establish today is a sort of call-and-response to several project ideas developed over the past few months, eliciting feedback and shaping priorities for moving forward.  Currently, there are seven (7) project ideas that I would like to review:

1)     bio boulders

2)     boulder bike racks

3)     flume

4)     blue tree

5)     pump house murals

6)     blue bird boxes
7)   babbling benches

In developing this list, consideration has been given to such things as visibility, functionality, community engagement, value and durability.  There is also a balance to be struck between permanence and ephemerality, iconography and narrative, cultural commentary and environmental activism.  The summative experience is a wandering through meaning and landscape, drawing park and trail users into a cognitive and physical dialogue with the South Tacoma neighborhoods they traverse.

Preliminary Conceptual Proposals

On Monday, December 12th I presented an overview of Preliminary Conceptual Proposals to the review committee.  The intent was to get feedback on 7 options in order to cull and create an ensemble of artwork that would thematically and esthetically cohere as an overall statement.  The following few entries are an attempt to summarize the presentation and committee responses...

South Tacoma Neighborhood Council meeting

Wednesday night we introduced the project to residents and representatives at the South Tacoma Neighborhood Council meeting held at the STAR Center.  There were about 30 or so in attendance.

Rebecca went over project background, from describing the trail and park issues to artist selection and project scope.  She handed out a 2-page flyer that provided some examples of prior projects I've worked on, biographical information and a brief description of what I've been doing to date on the project (with a link to this blog).  While flyers were distributed, I talked a little bit about the research I've been doing and time spent walking trails and exploring the neighborhood.

I touched on a few of the conceptual approaches I was thinking about, including the 'bio boulder', bike racks, iconic sculptural earthwork, plantings and trail markers.  The bluebird boxes and the mural projects met with some real enthusiasm, with one resident remarking that the window locations on the pump house were the former site of some WPA era stained glass pieces.  I'm now searching for more information about that.

Post-meeting we circulated around the room and tried to meet and talk to as many folks as we could.  I had a follow-up conversation with the gentleman who mentioned the WPA project, a local business owner who was instrumental in saving the ROW land Water Flume Trail is located on, a couple of UW Tacoma urban studies students who want me to speak to their class, a steward for Oak Tree Park and a couple council members who were most enthusiastic about habitat restoration as a means to build community.