Steve Tyree

Made of Sheet Bronze and Steel

“Discipline”, by Steve Tyree, is an example of his methodology, which includes making models of clay, wire, or Styrofoam, making paper patterns from the models, and then transferring them to bronze sheets to be cut, bent, hammered into shape, and welded.

Steve was born the son of a freelance artist in Modesto, California, but grew up in the Hawaiian Islands, where he and his brothers engaged in many artistic pursuits, including painting, carving, and taxidermy. His interest in wildlife led him as an adult to Alaska and Florida, where he took up filming and photographing birds in particular. After moving to Oregon, he became interested in welding and sculpting the birds and wildlife he had studied. 

Chuck Fitzgerald

Made of Stainless Steel and Powder-Coated Steel

Chuck was inspired to create Baseball Player because of his father’s success playing semi-pro baseball and his own love for the game.

Chuck uses a multidisciplinary approach to explore natural forms and past experiences to create art. He earned a BFA degree from Northwest Missouri State University in 1975, studying with teachers such as Tom Sayre, Ken Nelson, Phillip VanVoorst and Robert Sunkel. Their influence allowed him to merge theoretical concepts about art with practical works including photographs, wooden wall reliefs and 3 dimensional sculptures.

Artist website

Bruce Holmes

Made of Steel Plate

Artist statement: The piece depicts the style of manipulating a two-dimensional form.

“The Run” is an attempt to take a hard material (in this case, ¾” steel) and make it into a smooth, fluid, softer appearing object. Mr. Holmes built a 50-ton hydraulic press to create the smooth curve in this piece. Due to the thickness of the steel, each fish weighs about 150 lbs., leading the artist to refer to it as “Art by the Pound.”

David Mudgett

Made of Rebar Rings

Artist’s statement: As with the majority of my works, the shapes of the materials at hand inspire the pieces. Eroded Sphere was originally inspired by a pile of rebar rings. Turning the rings into a sphere seemed like the most natural thing to do. Whether you’re looking through the Hubble telescope or an electron microscope, you can’t escape the fact that spheres dominate our universe. We are built of spheres, as is everything we see touch and feel. In the time it takes to read this statement millions of them will have been pulled from this piece in their quest to rejoin the collective that we call earth.

Artist website

Dan Klennert

Made of Found Metal Objects

On the surface, Dan Klennert’s found-object sculptures are remarkable for their scale and realism. However, looking deeper, his patchwork skeletons become a lasting testament to the craftsmanship of the artisans who made the original objects Klennert incorporates into his art.

Kevin Pettelle

Made of Bronze and Steel

Artist statement: The work is based upon contemplations of the human structure, its spirit and strength. The piece explores the dramatic compositional forces of the body using the sculptural elements of form, positive and negative space, balance and mass.

Artist website

Puyallup High School Glass and Metals Class

Made of Rebar, Metal, and Ceramic

Artists’ statement: Our statue is a patriotic statement. We are proud of our American heroes who represent every walk of life. They pitched in when a crisis arose.

Dan Klennert

Made of Recycled Metal

Artist statement: I spent some time in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and I tap into the native spiritual energy that lives there. I do not do drugs, but I have channeled native spirits in my life, and that is what gave me the inspiration for the “Spirit of Recycling”. 

My love is preserving older pieces of metal that contain some history and were made by the hands of man. There is nothing like the natural high you get creating something out of your imagination using discarded items.

I got started in this career when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I was living in Seattle, and I’d take my red wagon and search through neighborhood junk piles. I found great stuff that way and fell in love with ‘scrounging’, or as we now know it, recycling. In school, I went to class mostly for art on Friday. I just loved it. As an adult, I’ve used my mechanical and welding skills to take what society once used and then discarded as junk, and instilled it with dignity and new meaning.

Artist Website

Sabah Al-Dhaher

Made of Cast Bronze

“Beginning” was originally carved in marble and later cast in bronze. It was inspired by Mr. Al-Dhaher’s son, who was born about 3 ½ months premature.

A native of Iraq, Mr. Al-Dhaher studied classical art at the Institute of Fine Arts in Basra. He fled Iraq in 1991, spent 2 ½ years in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia, arrived in the US as a political refugee, and settled in Seattle. His work consists of stone sculptures, paintings, and drawings, and may be found in both public and private collections throughout the Northwest. He teaches at the Pratt Fine Art Center in Seattle.

Possibly as a response to his turbulent younger days, Mr. Al-Dhaher says: “Art is a thread that has sustained my spirit from childhood and through my intense struggle to survive during my life in Iraq.  Art is a place of expression and meditation.”

Artist Website

Chuck Fitzgerald

Made of Detail Board/Synthetic Materials

Artist statement: “Elegant Valley” represents things found in the Puyallup Valley. Some specifics are: our state insect (the dragonfly), cattails, daffodils, berries, ferns, and a frog. The piece reflects a ‘change’ in my forming techniques. I have merged from full 3-dimensional pieces such as huge insects and human body parts, to  gentle relief work.

Artist website

Gretchen Daiber

Made of Bronze on Steel Plate

Artist statement: A sometime visitor, the Pygmy Owl, calls from our forest to remind me that the hillside is still wild and should remain so.

My work reflects the landscape and environment which I love, the mountains where I live, the many years that I spent at sea with my husband as a commercial fisherman, and the places I work and travel. Trained as a printmaker and graphic designer then later as a sculptor, my passion is to record and interpret my surroundings with sculpture, pastels, original prints, journal sketches, and watercolors.

Artist Website

Richard Beyer

Made of Cast Aluminum

The late Richard S. Beyer was a fascinating individual, born in Washington DC, but eventually finding his way to the “other” Washington, settling in Seattle. He held degrees in Social Science, Education and Finance, but after working for many employers in various fields, found his true calling as an artist.

Between 1968 and 2006, Mr. Beyer produced over 90 large sculptures for public spaces in cities Throughout the Pacific Northwest, but also in Georgia, California, Virginia, Minnesota, Arkansas, Iowa and the City of Tashkent in Uzbekistan (a Seattle “Sister City”).

Mr. Beyer was a philosopher as well as artist, stating that “Art is seeing common things transformed by love, and the best public art belongs to the story of a community.” He celebrated the Common Man in his figurative sculptures that reflected on the human condition with gentle humor. “Waiting for the Interurban” in Seattle is the first and probably most well-known of his large public sculptures, and a fine example of his approach.

“Old Man Catching Birds in His Beard” was purchased for Puyallup’s permanent gallery after being named People’s Choice in 1999. 

Artist Website

Kevin Pettelle

Made of Cast Bronze

Kevin Pettelle was raised in an artistic household with both his father and older sister being artists. He began sculpting the figure and working in bronze in 1980 with no formal training. His work has been exhibited throughout the US, and appears in private collections internationally. Over the years, three of his works have received Arts Downtown’s People’s Choice award.

About his work, Mr. Pettelle says: “Working with many mediums keeps the creative spark going. I find that working on several projects at once allows me to give each piece a resting period, so I can study and contemplate progress. Most of my works are representational, whether portraying a landscape, animal, or plant. I try to create movement, a flow in design, or an emotion.”

“Salutation” explores the expanding being, freedom, and the celebration of life. She received the Arts Downtown People’s Choice Award in 2008.

Artist Website

Larry Perkins

Made of Cast Bronze

The choice of name for this work will probably seem mysterious to anyone who is not a long-time fan of Grand Prix motor racing. This sculpture is actually a portrait of Phil Hill, the first American ever to win the Grand Prix, in 1961. Artist Larry Perkins explains: “Phil was a motor racing contemporary, competitor and acquaintance of mine, and much admired for his skills and demeanor. This piece attempts to portray the intensity and focus of a race driver “at work”, while offering a virtual suggestion of his car. Its namesake is the left-hand curve on the Monaco race track beside the famous Monte Carlo Casino.”

Mr. Perkins, who was an active professional sculptor and teacher for over 20 years, specialized in figurative bronze works, focusing on people, wildlife, and automobiles. Larry’s work in bronze sculpture earned recognition through pieces exhibited in outdoor public venues, international museum collections, and private hands. His intent was to intellectually stimulate viewers without indulging in ethical or social controversy. 

Jim Mattern

Made of Stainless steel

Artist statement: The tree displays the heart of loved ones.

Serengeti Moon is an exotic landscape by metal sculptor Jim Mattern.  A series of flat planes creates a great deal of apparent depth in a sculpture that provides a vision of the wide Serengeti plains in Kenya and Tanzania, one of the most important ecosystems for birds and wildlife in the world. The foreground focal point is an image of the iconic Acacia tree, symbol of the African savanna.

Alisa Looney

Made of Powder Coated Steel

Artist statement: ‘Heart Connection’ portrays the energy between two people, deeply connecting with each other. The spiraling shapes come together to form the shape of a heart, indicating two spirits dancing, merging, yet each person remains separate as an individual. Crimson red denotes the deepest love.

It is my highest goal to create sculpture that brings empowerment, joy and connection to people who experience it. I shape and fabricate metal into open, energetic human form, representing movement and the expression of life. I draw from years of experimental dance and movement, the place where I find my greatest moments of free expression. I capture this movement in gesture drawings and paintings, then design and fabricate these forms in metal, finishing with bright colors to add a sense of aliveness. I enjoy working with the pliability and strength of metal, cutting and shaping it into permanent forms that will last through time.

Alisa Looney is a sculptor, enamellist, dancer and designer who grew up in northern Idaho. She has been a professional designer and fine artist since 1981 and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Boise State University in 1983. Her public sculptures have won People’s Choice Purchase Awards in Oregon and Washington, and the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, WA selected one of her works as the feature sculpture on the plaza of their Stevenson wing in 2012. She is a member of several professional artist organizations, and is the owner of Vision Design in Portland, Oregon.

Artist Website

Jennifer Corio & David Frei

Made of Stainless Steel with Powder Coat

Artist statement: This winged woman with her angelic presence is floating upwards, rising to meet the potential that lies within. While her open heart exposes her vulnerability and the chink on her lower body hints at imperfection, these marks of humanness provide a roadmap to a life of complete fulfillment. The color red signifies passion and flow of blood, for while she is angelic in presence, she is very human in nature.

Jennifer Corio and David Frei are a married couple who together they create a dynamic balance of art, design, and workmanship.

Jennifer Corio took the artistic path only after years of working in engineering and business. Feeling a pent-up creative urge, she left corporate life in 2001 to enable her lifelong fascination with art and beauty, and express her need to create. After taking several welded sculpture classes, she was hooked, and has been creating personal and public works of art ever since.

David Frei has always been a craftsman, honing his metal fabrication skills at a young age by tooling on cars — customizing old ones, building dragsters for his racing habit, and trailers to haul them on. Even after landing a corporate job as a mechanical engineer, he continued to be the go-to-guy amongst his circle of friends for anything metal.

Artist Website

Leon White

Made of Cast Bronze

“Night Watchman” is a bronze casting of the original limestone sculpture of the same name. The natural shape of the stone inspired the artist to create his stylized owl. “Night Watchman” has won not only several local and regional awards, but three international awards, as well. 

Leon White is a multi-talented artist who has won awards regionally, nationally, and internationally in painting and sculpture. His artistic encouragement began at age ten as one of the winners in a national art contest. He majored in art, music, and drama at Central Washington University, and his early career included work in acting and modeling, but he turned to art full-time after study in bronze and steel sculpture at the Pratt Art Center in Seattle. His art can be found in private, corporate, municipal, and museum collections throughout the US and beyond. 

Mr. White describes his artistic philosophy by saying: “The beauty of life is so precious and plentiful…I feel so alive having the gift to create ART – for my pleasure, and for others to enjoy!”

Artist Website

Bruce Holmes

Made of Stainless Steel and Bronze

Artist statement:  “Bird” is a technically challenging work, in that each piece had to have its ultimate curved dimensions calculated and laid out on a flat surface, and the amount of press bending had to be precise, so that all parts would fit exactly when assembled. It can be seen as either realism or abstraction, depending on the angle of view. The main reason I create art is the reward I get on a good day of work or a well-done piece. It’s like and endorphin rush.

An art degree was not all Bruce Holmes needed to become a metal sculptor. A college course in welding and nine years’ experience as a welder-fabricator provided the mechanical and technical skills needed to make the patterns, presses and molds used in creating his three-dimensional sculptures. His unique approach and artistic vision have resulted in a number of his pieces being purchased by municipalities, including Redmond, Federal Way, Issaquah, Port Angeles, and Puyallup.

Craig Breitbach

Made of Basalt

Artists statement: I have carved in many types of stone and wood so far, but I prefer basalt for my larger outdoor pieces. Basalt is a wonderful outdoor medium because it has rough natural surfaces to contrast with the polished and highly detailed images carved into them. People are inclined (and encouraged!) to touch my sculptures.”

Craig Breitbach says that while he has been an artist as long as he can remember, he has been a sculptor since only 2000. His works are for the most part realistic images of wildlife, combining his love of art with his passion for nature. In his words, “Growing up on the Olympic Peninsula, between the mountains and the ocean and amid forest and stream, the outdoors has always been an important part of my life.” Mr. Breitbach has created public art that can be found in Issaquah, Fall City, Puyallup, Oregon City, and San Juan Island.

Artist Website

Mark Andrew

Made of Indiana Limestone

Gift from the Puyallup Tribe of Indians

Artist’s statement: ‘Salmon Spirit Speaks’ is a reminder of our shared connection with harvesting Earth’s bounty. I chose to capture him wet from the river, with his stone weighted cord nets and heavy harvest. In mid-stride, he pauses in gratitude…hearing the voice of the Great Spirit.” 

Eugene, Oregon sculptor Mark Andrew is a master of many mediums, working in wood, stone, steel, and bronze. He acquired an acute awareness of, and appreciation for art while living in Europe as a teenager, and turned appreciation into practice as a student at the University of Oregon.

Mr. Andrew’s choice of mediums has the dual purpose of challenging his ability to learn and master diverse sculptural skills, and as he puts it, “sending a voice to the future…speaking of the images dear to me in materials proven to endure, whole or in pieces, through time”.

Artist Website

Louis & Sandie Nadelson

Made of Recycled Metal

Inspired by images of Orca whales as depicted by Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, “Rising” represents the arching form of a whale leaping from the water, as well as the rising of the sun as represented by the sunburst icon in the center of the whale.

Using art as a creative outlet while maintaining two very busy careers in higher education, Louis and Sandie Nadelson continue to explore a range of art media inspired by nature, their animals, Native arts, and their sense of humor. Sandie and Louis let the combination of materials, a desire to make art attainable, and seeing beauty in many forms guide their work and passion for creating beauty and fun to share and enjoy.

Kris Vermeer

Made of Stainless Steel and Bronze on a steel base

Artist’s statement: To me, art comes from the heart. It is not something that can be contained. I am at my happiest when I am creating. Feather is my way of honoring our native peoples, and their love and respect for the earth. The feather brings great wisdom to those who seek it.

Kris Vermeer is a self-taught artist of remarkable skill who enjoys working with a variety of mediums, from fused glass to painting to metal sculpture. Her love of ancient culture is evident in both the subject matter and the techniques she employs in creating her works. Kris’s work appears in public and private collections in the Pacific Northwest, but can also be found in the private collections of two Nobel Prize winners and the British Attenborough family. 

Lynn Swanson

Made of Cast Bronze

Artist statement: “Motherhood is a great gift and challenge.  Nurturing and raising children is both incredibly gratifying and frustrating work, made even more so by the complexities of human thought and behavior! I am a great and passionate observer of animal behavior, and often find myself amazed by the relative simplicity of the parent/child bond as seen in the wild. There is a universal tenderness and fierceness of parenthood that transcends species.

When creating this work, I reflected on the similarities between our respective parenting worlds while also trying to capture in time and space what is often only glimpsed in the wild, and for only a brief moment. In this parent and chick I see the tenacity of life, the will to survive, and it gives me hope for all of us.

A native of Seattle, Lynn Swanson finds aesthetic satisfaction in making works that highlight the purity of the line, whether the beak of a penguin or the slope of a cat’s tail. She says “Conceptually, I hope to convey my own undying appreciation, love and respect for the incredible beauty found in nature, especially as it relates to animals.”

Douglas Granum

Made of Basalt and Aluminum

A Deb Munson Memorial Piece

Douglas Granum is a multi-faceted artist from Port Orchard, WA. He is a painter and a sculptor working in glass, metal, and stone. His works populate the collections of individuals, institutions and municipalities throughout the Puget Sound region. ‘Creation” declares Mr. Granum “is my way of life. Art is a process. This means to me that to create I don’t need to know where I am going to end up The beauty of art is the constant discovery.”

Moonstone Starcrown is in the artist’s words “about the sun and the moon, the equinox and the solstices. It is about moonlight as well as sunlight.” The darkness of space and the planets that inhabit it can be imagined in the basalt column with inlaid disks of semi-precious minerals. Markers may be placed in the earth around the sculpture so that star shadows from the crown fall upon them to mark important days of the year.

Artist Website

David L. Erue

Made of Steel Pipe

“She was Tall, He Was Short, They Were in Love” was made from salvaged steel pipe that Mr. Erue cut at angles, then reassembled. He stood two reconstructed columns together, and seeing a certain figurative quality, assembled them as a unit, and assigned its whimsical name. This work was created for Valley Arts United “Arts in the Park” festival, and became part of our permanent gallery in 2008.

David Erue’s first profession was a chef. He retired early from that career, but found a new calling when his brother taught him how to weld. Mr. Erue immediately saw creative opportunities opening, and in his words “was hooked”. His philosophy is that art should be fun, and many of his pieces draw smiles from viewers. He states: “If it makes you happy, then I have done my job.”

Ross Matteson

Made of Cast Bronze

My sculptures often interpret a bird or a group of birds in two ways; as a specific biological subject and as a metaphor.
The support form or sculptural “environment” for a bird is important because it creates a dialogue with the subject and helps bring my metaphors to light.

Artist Website

Ross Matteson

Made of Cast Bronze

Falco Rusticolus, sculpted in 1993, is a slightly larger than life-size bronze interpretation of a female gyrfalcon, one of Mr. Matteson’s favorite species. His intent here is to capture the falcon’s inquisitive, alert nature, but still leave no doubt as to its underlying power.  Falco Rusticolus received a first place award in 1993 at the “Pacific Rim Wildlife Art Show” in Tacoma, Washington.

Ross Matteson describes his artistic approach as “relentless in experimenting with elegant materials such as bronze, stone, glass, steel, and wood, to express qualities such as grace and a spirit of life. I engage in a high level of craftsmanship and work hard to communicate what I feel is an original view.  I strive to share a spiritual essence of my subject or concept.”

Ross is a sculptor, falconer, and author whose work is influenced by bird art of ancient Egypt, Asia, and Northwest Native American cultures, but most of all by his own Northwest heritage. A graduate of the Evergreen State College, he has accumulated numerous awards for his work, which has been featured in exhibits across the US and in the United Kingdom and France. His work is also found in the collections of museums and private collectors in 16 countries.

Artist Website

Sabah Al-Dhaher

Made of Basalt

The sculpture “Home” represents our common human reed to find our place and establish roots. As a political refugee I found my home in the Pacific Northwest.

Artist Website

Olinka Broadfoot

Made of Cast Bronze

This piece was created to show the connections between people. Some of us are connected through the heart, some of us consciously, some of us by blood ties and some of us from a need to be connected… but the point is: that we are ALL connected.

Jim Johnson

Made of Welded Stainless Steel Wire

Artist statement: I try to show action and/or feeling with my work. I like curves, smooth and flowing lines. I found the pose of Ballerina on a church bulletin and liked the curves and flow. I had bought at recycling a large amount of stainless steel wire and was looking for a project for it. A lot of the shape was determined by the shape of the wire coils, as it is tempered steel and hard to bend other than by heating.

Jim Johnson is a multi-talented artist who works in sculpture, painting, jewelry and ceramics. He studied art in Japan for three years with some of Japan’s leading artists, as well as at Aichi University of Fine Art. He has or has shown public art in the following cities: Keizer, Wilsonville, and Happy Valley in Oregon, Longview, Federal Way, Wenatchee, and Puyallup in Washington.

Kevin Pettelle

Made of Bronze

Artist statement: Our children embody the future, their dreams the guide.

The human figure still holds the depth of my interest. All my lessons of great sculpture can be found there.

Artist Website

Jennevieve Schlemmer

Made of Concrete and Glass Mosaic

“URSUS AZUL,” is made of hand-cut glass mosaic applied to a concrete polar bear sculpture.

Jennevieve Schlemmer is a fiber artist and sculptor living in Tacoma, WA. She began her career as a mural painter, while studying jewelry making, and settled on sculpture as a way to combine the intricate work of jewelry with the scale of murals. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Washington, focusing on public art and outdoor sculpture. She incorporated mosaics into her sculptures as a way to imbue them with color, texture, and longevity. Her numerous public works appear in communities throughout the Puget Sound Region and beyond.

Ms. Schlemmer’s work in sculpture was based on a desire to create long lasting pieces that could be enjoyed by as many people as possible. 

Artist Website

Cordelia Bradburn

Made of Aluminum

Artist statement: This sculpture is a metaphor for when you first ‘get’ an idea. The birds represent the sudden passing of information like the beating of wings all around you. Collectively this information becomes the inspiration or creative plan. One must act or it will fly away.

“Sudden Inspiration”, her first aluminum figure, won the Community Favorite award in 2004. Six pieces of her work have been shown in Puyallup since 1997. She is well known for her work with children and she is on the roster of teaching artists on the Washington State Arts Commission. 

A successful sculptor for 25 years, Cordelia Bradburn’s career began with clay and bronze, but she is best known for her large sculptural pieces in aluminum and bronze, but she also works in clay. Her work resides in many public and private collections. “My work is inspired by a search for the Divine within the feminine and the feminine within the Divine”.

CJ Rench

Made of Stainless Steel with Mild Steel Base

With a vision to design and fabricate works of art that leave memories for all who come in contact with them, this Hood River, Oregon artist specializes in large-scale abstract designs and fabricating unique works of art that reflect the values of his clients.

Mr. Rench began his career as a self-taught industrial engineer and senior project designer in the sporting goods industry. Now specializing in metal sculpture, all of his colorful pieces are hand painted with industrial marine epoxy and fabricated from mild steel, stainless steel or aluminum for durability and timeless quality.

He molds, welds and grinds stainless steel and mild steel into abstract designs with colors, kinetic motion, led lighting and glass to give them a life of their own. 

“I strive to create sculptures that are inviting and inspiring, sculptures that provide smiles and memories for everyone regardless of their age.”

Artist Website

Cordelia Bradburn

Made of Cast Aluminum

This sculpture has been donated to the people of Puyallup by the artist.

Cordelia (“Cordi”) Bradburn has been a professional sculptor for over 20 years. She originally worked with clay and bronze but is best known for her cast aluminum work. 

About “Pony Play”, Cordelia says it is “a sculpture that I have visualized for several years. It’s origins are my childhood experiences with a herd of Shetland ponies in Idaho. My sister, brother and I spent many happy hours playing with and riding these shaggy friends. I was a horse crazy girl who longed for a horse of my own and these were some of my happiest childhood memories. I dedicate this sculpture to all horse lovers and invite them to get on behind the kids and have an imaginary ride!”  

Lance Carleton

Made of Recycled Steel

Artist Lance Carleton, from Lake Stevens, Washington, describes himself as an “intuitive artist creating contemporary art in an eclectic style”. His body of work is diverse and imaginative, and much is very down-to-earth, even functional, but he expresses his vision of art and his life as an artist in terms that are beyond poetic, perhaps rhapsodic.

He takes great pleasure in observing viewers of his sculptures as they move back and forth and around his pieces. “Fat Tire #7”, which is cleverly designed to appear as if the wheels are in motion, is definitely not a “Do Not Touch” piece. It was designed to allow viewers to climb aboard, an activity that delights the artist.

John Zylstra

Made of Mild Steel and Stainless Steel

John Zylstra is a sculptor based in Bellingham, Washington. He holds a BA from Western Washington University and an MFA from Cranbrook Art Academy. He has exhibited work in scores of galleries, museums, and public art venues nationally and internationally for almost 40 years. He maintains a second, small studio in Oregon City, Oregon, which has the advantage of being near his grandchildren.

“Camp Harmony” is a sculpture that refers to the Japanese temporary assembly center located in and around the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup in the early days of World War II. The design makes references to Japanese gardens and shoji screens as well as the barbed wire of such “camps”.

About “Camp Harmony”, Mr. Zylstra says: The sculpture is less about these historical issues than it is about contemporary issues of ethnicity and profiling. ‘Camp Harmony’ serves as a warning to be ever vigilant regarding conclusions drawn too quickly and specific assessments made of the human condition.  We must be cautious to separate what is real from what is perceived with our actions driven by our sense of humanity and justice.  It is not my purpose to condemn or point fingers historically; rather, encourage continued discussions of larger social issues of today.”

Sharon Warman Agnor

Made of Stainless Steel, Bronze, Cast Glass, and Enamel

A Carmen Bennett Memorial Piece

Artist statement: My intent with ‘Renovation’ is to invite discussion on the conditions we require for recovery and repair, no matter what our injury.

“This posed figure has eyes shut and locked. The black-and-white stripes represent our belief that life might come without setbacks.  The multicolored areas are more like what life actually brings.  Challenges.  At the center of the figure is where the action is taking place, the healing and possibilities of the future.”

It’s important to me to have my work be part of the visual conversation art created in our public spaces.  My desire is to create meaningful, thoughtful work that tells a story.  Exploring the effects of life’s unpredictable events, the healing impact of the natural beauty around me, and the resulting decisions I make moving forward motivate me in my work.  What causes us to move from hardship to optimism is a subject I personally think about, and these themes often find expression in my work.

Vancouver, Washington artist Sharon Agnor returned to community college at the age of 45 to learn Sculptural Welding. She was fascinated by the changes extreme temperatures made in the material, taking a flat sheet of steel and creating a form with shape and volume.

Artist Website

Kris Vermeer

Made of Steel and Fused Glass

Artist Statement: “Butterfly” was created during the Covid-19 quarantine, it represents to me how I hope we as a world can emerge from this global crisis, with renewed respect and appreciation for ourselves and the world we live in. I am thankful to be in a position to create. I draw my inspiration from ancient cultures and nature. It is with honor and respect that I create what I do. Working in a variety of mediums, glass, metal, and painting I hope to bring my appreciation forward.

Kris Vermeer is a self-taught artist of remarkable skill who enjoys working with a variety of mediums, from fused glass to painting to metal sculpture. Her work appears in public and private collections in the Pacific Northwest but can also be found in the private collections of two Nobel Prize winners and the British Attenborough family.

CJ Rench

Made of Stainless Steel and Acrylic Panels

CJ began his career as a self-taught industrial engineer and senior project designer in the sporting goods industry. Now specializing in metal sculpture, all of his colorful pieces are hand-painted with industrial marine epoxy and fabricated from mild steel, stainless steel, or aluminum for durability and timeless quality.

With a vision to design and fabricate works of art that leave memories for all who come in contact with them, this Hood River, Oregon artist specializes in large-scale abstract designs and fabricating unique works of art that reflect the values of his clients.

CJ’s sculptures stimulate thought, smiles, conversation, and creativity to establish timeless works of art. He molds, welds, and grinds stainless steel and mild steel into abstract designs with colors, kinetic motion, led lighting, and glass to give them a life of their own.

Artist Website

Sabah Al-Dhaher

Made of Basalt and Desert Onyx.

A Rosemary Eckerson Memorial Piece.

Artist statement: The design for the sculpture “Eternal Heart” was inspired by how I feel about Rosemary Eckerson! Her passion and dedication to art and creativity as essential to building a community were remarkable. Her tireless effort was to serve her community and inspire others to do so. She was a pure heart that kept spreading kindness and love to those fortunate people who had the chance to know and work with her.

“Eternal Heart” is dedicated to the memory of Rosemary Eckerson, a truly outstanding member of the Puyallup community. A passionate supporter of the arts, she served as director of the Karshner Museum, co-founded Valley Arts United, served as a city arts commissioner and as a city council member, and was the driving force in starting Puyallup’s Outdoor Sculpture Gallery.

Sculptor Sabah Al-Daher is a native of Iraq who received his training at the Institute of Fine Arts in Basra. He entered the U.S. as a political refugee after the Iraq war. He settled in Seattle, where he produced an extensive body of paintings and sculptures and an impressive list of exhibits and installations. He teaches at the Pratt Fine Art Center in Seattle and presents programs at art workshops and symposia.

Artist Website

Arlene Towne

Made of Ceramic Tile

Artist’s statement: The 9/11 Flag has nine stars and eleven stripes to remind us of September 11, 2001, the day Americans re-established their allegiance with their country, freedom and flag. As I cut, set and grouted the tile, I thought how each small tile represented a life taken on September 11th. Let us not forget.

Artist Website

Jeff Samples

Made of Carved Brick

An Ertz Memorial Piece

This carving depicts a downtown Puyallup street during the 1880’s. Yesterday shows  what incredible changes have occurred in just over a century. Jeff’s interest in local history was his inspiration, as well as his desire to preserve the traditional methods of his craft as a brick mason.

A special gift from Roberta Ertz to the people of Puyallup in memory of her husband and longtime businessman, Arnold Ertz.

Artist Website

Gillian Hanington

Fused Glass and Steel

Artist’s Statement:  The technical challenge of glass, the manipulation of light and color, the tension between refraction and reflection and its sheer unfailing beauty inspires me on a daily basis.

Daniel Michael

Made of Granite

Artist’s Statement: The Peony garden bench extends an invitation from fuzzy bumblebees clamoring about the fragrant interior of large tree peony blossoms warmed with spring sunshine.

Artist website

Pat McVay

Made of Salvaged Red Cedar

Artist’s Statement: A large cedar stump sits where a tree once stood. Inside grows a book. It is an inviting refuge – a big chair where one is welcome to sit and reflect. Print books are disappearing in the digital age – freedom of ideas and speech are being eroded. The cedar stump connects us to endangered species – created by both man and nature – and offers refuge from our hectic world.

Although the cedar used in this project was blown down in a winter storm, many cedar trees are logged and not re-planted because they take ‘too long’ to grow. Like books and personal freedoms, our cedar trees are also endangered species.

This piece, like much of my three dimensional sculpture work, is interactive and designed for a life outdoors – it is durable and long lasting – just like the natural life of a cedar!

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Jeff Samples

Made of Carved Brick

The artist expresses what a joy it was to be on his grandfather’s lap to learn to play the fiddle. The piece expresses joy in learning and in teaching and most of all, how important it is to the memory of the child being taught by a loved one.

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Jim Mattern

Made of Metal

‘Gandy Dancer’ is a general term for the railroad workers in the 1800’s through the turn of the century. Inspired by folklore of John Henry. Dedicated to those men who worked and died building the Transcontinental Railroad.

Leslie Ariel

Made of Concrete

Leslie Ariel works primarily in clay and concrete. Her forms derive from a classically modern abstraction of the figure as well as her particular interpretation of naturally occurring forms. She strives to make pieces that can be read simultaneously on several levels.

A Montana native, Leslie now calls Portland, Oregon her home. She has evolved her distinctively organic style over the course of more than 10 years, working mostly in ceramic. Over this time, her pieces have steadily grown in size and sophistication, and she has turned to concrete to accommodate their ever increasing size. Big Leg Mama, a concrete seated figure owned by the city of Puyallup, WA, is her largest work to date and stands at just over 8 feet tall.

Artist Website