New Hoyt Avenue Light Sculptures

 

I've just installed a new series of 11 light sculptures on Hoyt Avenue in downtown Everett. The commission was designed with the intention of helping to create a vibrant new arts district on 5 City blocks. The Schack Arts Center and Children's Museum are on this street and a beautiful new plaza, designed by artist Linda Beaumont, is nearby. Inspired by festival lanterns and seedpods, my sculptures arch over the sidewalks, making for a festive and iconic visitor experience. At night the sculptures will be lit and will each have a different Gobo light projection on the sidewalk below.

The pieces are reminiscent of Lily of the Valley and mistletoe....

Some photos of our installation on a cold Saturday morning a few weeks ago. Bart Turner of Flying Anvil Studio and Silas Maddox were the ringleaders of the installation. We met at their Ballard shop before sunrise, and checked the straps on the trucks at Dicks before we hit the highway.

 

 

With a team of 6 (including the world's best crane operator) we assembled the lights and globes onto the steel part of the sculptures before we started to lift them off the trucks and into place. The folks at the City of Everett (Carol Thomas, Steve Sawyer, Ryan Sass, and Sue Strickland) had everything ready for us and were a great support team on the day of the installation and the weeks prior. 

In that our "days" are often lowlight at this time of year, the photo sensors on the poles keep them lit for much of the morning and late afternoon. Here they cheer up the street on one of our gray days.

There are 11 sculptures spanning 5 City blocks from the Library to the Children's Museum.