Placing artwork in public places is one of our most rewarding roles. Public art can be inspirational, beautiful, thought-provoking, reflective, and commemorative all at the same time. Washington state has one of the most extensive public art collections in the nation, and I am proud to say that much of our public art is targeted to and accessible by school children.   

The wall mural at Sun Valley Elementary School in Sunnyside, near Yakima, is one of the newest additions to the collection. Titled Coming to Our Senses, the artwork by Vancouver artist Ruth Brockmann uses glass and wood to convey bright colors and a hands-on learning experience for children at the kindergarten-only school. The piece depicts 26 animals - one for every letter of the alphabet - enjoying their environment in the protective arms of an ancient tree. The school's 600 students expressed their enthusiasm in a colorful book of signatures and artwork that they sent to our office. I was particularly touched by these drawings, an example of which is below:

Kindergarten students at Sun Valley Elementary drew visual thank you notes to express their appreciation of  the new public art installation at their school.

Like Coming to Our Senses at Sun Valley Elementary, artworks added to the State Art Collection are selected locally by an art selection committee representing the students, staff and public users of the site where the artwork will be located. And the artwork is likely to be structurally integrated - for example, built into an entryway, window wall, or landscape. These aspects of artwork creation mean that the result is likely to be well-loved by the community and its children for years to come.

I hope you will look for public art in your summertime travels. Stop. Read the plaque. Think about what the artwork means to the community, and to you. 

Kris Tucker

ArtsWA Executive Director

A large, colorful and engaging glass blue ribbon now greets children at Valley School in Eastern Washington, reminding them daily of their potential

for success. Seattle artist Michael Dupille worked closely with the school's local art selection committee to ensure the artwork, titled Blue Ribbon Livin', represents the  ideas and images important to the community.  

Blue Ribbon Livin' features imagery from the Valley area set into a 14-foot by 10-foot glass sculpture. Dupille used a a process he calls "fritography"  that employs glass frit as the basis for sand paintings that are kiln-fired in multiple layers. 

Directly across the street from the school is the Lane Mountain Company, which produces high-quality silica sand. The company that Dupille uses to supply him with finished glass buys their sand from Lane Mountain Company.

Each grade level at Valley - a kindergarten through 8th grade school - learned about the processes and concepts associated with Blue Ribbon Livin' through tailored lessons produced through a new pilot project to integrate new public art installations with arts learning opportunities.

Last fall, as part of the dedication of Blue Ribbon Livin', Dupille helped the school's students create a massive sand mandala in the shape of a blue ribbon covering the school's softball field. Each student was given his or her own space to work within, and by the end of the day, they had created a colorful temporary artwork in view of the Lane Mountain Sand plant, which donated the sand for the project.  The mandala helped the students feel even more connected to Blue Ribbon Livin' and helped them experience first-hand the value and joy of creativity.