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Mark

VESSELS



A series of 18 cast-iron sculptures dot the community garden that occupies Seattle Public Utilities property at Beacon Reservoir. Building on the inspiration of the reservoir as a container, they evoke puffball mushrooms holding spores, berries holding seeds, seedpods and ceramic water jugs. Likewise, they hold stories from the community. I interviewed volunteers and neighbors over several summer months capturing food stories and traditions on audio, and embedding them into the permanent works.


Funded by Seattle Public Utilities 1% for Art Funds,
Administered by Office of Arts and Culture


ALL-TERRAIN


The All-Terrain is a remote-controlled traveling landscape element, a park on wheels. It can quickly transform a streetscape almost instantly from car-dominated to one with amenities to enhance the pedestrian experience. It is a lushly planted, living, breathing amenity that is extremely versatile for a rugged urban environment. The project was displayed at the American’s for the Arts National Conference at the Washington State Convention Center and later at aLIVe in Seattle.


photo credit: Mike McGinn

SUNLIGHT



Sunlight captures the energy of the sun. A photovoltaic panel provides power to the three sunlights at night. Recalling carefree childhood days of fort building, lollygagging and daydreaming, each lantern is crafted from a collage of vintage 1970′s era harvest gold fabric. Exhibited during the Lo-Fi Arts Festival at Smoke Farm in Arlington, the warm glow of the lanterns shone though this grove of maples like a beacon in the night.

Photo by Melanie Masson



ILLUMINATED GHOSTS


We forget that there were once 300-foot old growth trees in the Duwamish Valley and all over this region—that's twice the height of the West Seattle Bridge. Illuminated Ghosts reminds us of what once was and could be again someday. This image is an old growth Douglas Fir projected at scale on the 120-foot concrete silos at Lafarge, so you only see the middle portion of the tree.
Photo Credit: Bruce Tom

UPGARDEN



The nation's first large-scale rooftop community garden, the UpGarden sits atop the demonstrates the leading edge of innovation for urban agriculture. Located on top of the Mercer Street Parking Garage at Seattle Center, the UpGarden converts approximately 30,000 sq ft of a fifty year old parking structure into a vibrant community garden in one the city’s densest neighborhoods. Funded by the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch program, Kistler and Higbee collaborated with community members during several design workshops to generate a garden design and organize a volunteer-led construction process. The terraced design also incorporates a 1962 Airstream and Ford Galaxy art car in reference to the 50-year anniversary of Seattle Center.
Photo Credit: Eric Higbee