There is a Ed Kane mural next to the blue house at 412 Garfield Street. The house is echoed in the mural and there is also a white house and a brick building that I assume are original to the neighborhood. More information about the mural can be found here.
One has to look hard for the mural on the barrier blocks at 5699 Pipeline Road East, Tacoma. But they are worth the Eastside search with their bold, red color and jaunty graphics. My favorite barrier (if one can have a favorite barrier) is the one with the word ‘Adventure’ on it! The artists are Natalie Oswald, K. Candejas, Y. Simone and J. Warren. The Tacoma Murals Project mural was created in 2012. The top photo shows the barriers as they sit and the bottom photo shows them Photoshopped side by side.
Hing Hay Park at 423 Maynard Ave S. is a vital part of Seattle’s International District. The name translates to “Park for Pleasurable Gatherings”. The pagoda, or Grand Pavilion, was constructed in Taipei, Taiwan in 1974. The mural facing the park shows an elaborate dragon. When I visited there was a group of men playing chess on the over-sized chess board and others were playing ping pong.
Endless Celebration in front of Bellevue Place, Bellevue, WA is a fifty one foot cast bronze sculpture commissioned by Kemper Freeman Jr. and created by Gesso Cocteau. It was installed on November 18, 2005. It is the tallest standing cast bronze sculpture in the United States. To see more of the artist’s work including additional photographs of Endless Celebration, go to her website.
I’ve admired the bold, tree based Olympia-Rafah Mural Project, located in downtown Olympia WA. Olympia is the sister city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. This 4000 square foot mural “seeks to break down barriers to understanding, increase visibility for Palestinian people, encourage imagination, embrace the hope and courage of Rachel Corrie, and bring people together to work in solidarity for justice and liberation for Palestinians and marginalized people everywhere.” The project began in 2006 and involves more than 150 local, national and international groups and individuals. The project’s website is here.
Jim Dine’s Technocolor Heart presides over the corner of Stadium Way and Grimes Way on the Washington State University (WSU) campus in Pullman, WA. The sculpture had been away from campus for part of 2011 and when it was reinstalled, it faced a different direction! Dine is a prolific artist in various medians with hearts being a common theme. Per the Guggenheim, Jim Dine lives in New York, Paris, and Walla Walla, Washington. There is an interview with him here. 
Once a year, the Emergency Food Network has a fundraising event called Empty Bowls. This year it was at Charles Wright Academy, 7723 Chambers Creek Rd, University Place, 9846. The premise of this charity event is that folks can chose amongst a large selection of handmade bowls by local potters and all of the money raised supports the Emergency Food Network. Prices typically varied between $10 and $30. The Network provides more than 15.1 million pounds of food annually to local 67 food banks.
The Vietnam Veterans Traveling Wall is in the Auburn Veteran’s Memorial Park at 411 E Street NE this Veteran’s Day Weekend. The exhibit is a half size replica of the Washington DC Vietnam Memorial Wall which was designed by Maya Lin. It was really a very interesting exhibit. So many dead — 58,195 names are listed. And there is an iPhone App to help one find any name by panel number and line. The original wall is listed as number 10 for America’s favorite piece of architecture per Wikipedia. While I was at the park I snapped some photos of the rest of the park including mural art representing many of the major US wars.
The Tacoma Studio Tours happened on a rainy, windy weekend but I was determined to go to at least some of them. Tinkertopia at 1914 Pacific Avenue is really delightful and it would be easy to spend a great deal of time here, but not a great deal of money since everything is so reasonably priced. To get a sense of the place, check out the photos below and the website which has plenty of links to articles and a free mini poster! Tinkertopia is a Spaceworks Project and when their Spaceworks funding expires they will be able to continue with the generous support of University of Washington, Tacoma.
I really needed to stretch my legs and for a couple of minutes it wasn’t foggy, so I sent off to see the Chambers Bay Labyrinth off of 64th Street. The labyrinth is based on the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in France. At first I saw no discernible pattern, but after a while it became apparent and I walked its twisting ways to the center. More information on the labyrinth can be found here. And the worldwide labyrinth locator can be found here.
