Jennifer Chushcoff

Happy to announce we've found a photographer (& poet!) to collaborate on the South Tacoma Pump Station images.  Jennifer Chushcoff seems like a perfect fit, given her passion for all things WATER.  In fact, she's published a book entitled WA is Water that has won a couple awards.

Combining her love of science, the natural world and language, Jennifer travels more than 3,700 miles, from the wild Pacific coastline to the mysterious Scablands for her latest book, WA is Water. She returns with expressive photos and intimate poems that examine questions of faith and mortality to geological processes and the structure of snowflakes. Interlaced throughout are facts about Washington’s agriculture, climate and geography. Explore the seasons of the Evergreen State as she reveals the intricate connection of water to our past, present and future. A Name the Rain dictionary, Northwest Pronunciation Guide and conservation tips are also included.

We are most excited to have her on board.  Welcome Jenn!

reviewing work of photographers

Looking through portfolios now...


Jennifer Chushcoff

Jason Hummel

Abby Kok

Kristin Giordano

functional issues of stonework

Trying to determine the right angle for cuts on the stones.  Too flat and they won't read like a flume.  Too steep and they won't provide a suitable surface for lounging upon.  After several modeling attempts, it seems like 30 degrees is just about right, striking a balance between the metaphoric, the esthetic and the functional aspects of the piece.  Desired scale and actual size of stones will depend upon budget realities.

conceptual organization for the stonework

Am thinking there will be 3-7 fossils engraved in the Seven Stones representing significant climatological shifts during 3 main geologic eras: Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic.  As icons of evolutionary development during a particular Period, each fossil will represent typical life forms ranging from Cambrian trilobites to Jurassic reptiles to Quaternary mammals.  Reading it as a linear equation, it may provide clues as to what's next?

Since these will be placed relatively low on each stone, it will reward children and those who linger and play upon the sculptural installation.  I plan to provide an online 'key' as part of the website we'll design for the overall project.

Romer's Vertebrate Paleontology

In search of fossil imagery and corresponding story in stone, I'm digging back into an old favorite: Romer's Vertebrate Paleontology.  A classic work on the evolutionary fossil record originally published in 1933.  While there have been many discoveries in the field since that time, it remains a definitive landmark study in the field of paleontology, filled with detailed illustrations and elaborate descriptions of creatures of bygone eras.

This is one resource amongst many I'm utilizing to develop the Fossil Story in Stone.  

Water Flume Line Trail muralists

Looking forward to jurying artists for 3 mural opportunities along Water Flume Line Trail.  This project will happen a ways north along the trail between Tacoma Avenue South and Yakima Avenue.  The murals will be painted on the pedestrian side of the barrier wall that runs adjacent South Tacoma Way.

sculptural approach to the Pump Station

As opposed to seeing the Pump Station images as simply illustrations, my intention for the photography piece is treat the entire building as a sort of architectural sculpture with the photographic 'windows' offering a view of an otherwise hidden watery world.  While each frame may offer a different state of water, there's a continuity or flow between images created by color and pattern.  Each image exists as a sort of 'color-field photograph' that illuminates a sense of process involving water currents, waves, purification, evaporation, condensation, etc.  Much for a photographer to explore...