Got 2 hours? And muscles? Beautify West Seattle’s gateway!

| How to help | West Seattle news

West Seattle is THE most spectacular part of the city. We all know that! But if you drive in via the Fauntleroy end of the West Seattle Bridge, that’s not always apparent. Some aspects of the “gateway” stretch will take time to change – but the greenspace around the Walking On Logs sculptures (city webcam at right) only needs a few hours of your time, one or both of the next two Saturdays. Updating the plan for new landscaping in that area (as published here a week and a half ago) – thanks to a lot of volunteer work that’s already been done – Nancy Driver of the Walking On Logs Landscape Restoration Group is hoping a few more people will step forward to help, particularly this Saturday, for two hours between noon and 4, they need some muscle-power for the two-person “augurs” to be used to dig holes for new trees and shrubs going in a week later. She says “more volunteers to take out blackberries” are on the wish list too, particularly for this Saturday. Any shift you sign up for is only two hours – we know there’s a LOT going on this Saturday, but c’mon, you can fit it all in. Read more about the project here; e-mail ruth.hoover@comcast.net to get on the volunteer list – and know that thousands will see the result of your work every single day.

Meghan April 17, 2012 (12:44 pm)

Great project! And while we’re on the subject, can we please stop dressing those poor sculptures in tee shirts, baseball caps and feather boas every time some local group has an event? It is art! Would you hang something on a painting or mural? Some people would, I’m sure. But why turn a nice piece of public art in to an eyesore to celebrate your personal event? Plus it teaches your children that it’s OK to deface public art if you feel like it.

Diane April 17, 2012 (1:14 pm)

art is certainly subjective; I like it when they are “dressed up”, always changing

Sharonn April 17, 2012 (1:34 pm)

What seemed to be a harmless dressing up the statues with rubber swim caps turned into 3 hours of scrapping the melted rubber off of their heads!

DF April 17, 2012 (2:16 pm)

Count me in I’ll be there.

Harry Reems April 17, 2012 (6:56 pm)

I like the dressing up of the statues (our version of Fremont’s ‘Waiting For The Interurban’ and I miss the birthday greetings and fun signs from the overpass near there.

Look4wrd April 17, 2012 (8:53 pm)

Temporary embellishment of the log walkers is hardly defacing. Art needn’t be passive, interaction with art can enrich the artist, the embellisher, and the viewer. People dress the statues because they care about some aspect our community and want to share.

Besides, and this is only my personal opinion, the figures are hardly masterpieces. I find them to be stuck awkwardly between realistic and expressionistic.

west seattlite April 17, 2012 (11:29 pm)

I would love to help keep that area clean/invasive plant free. But I work long shifts on Saturdays….every Saturday. I only live a few blocks away. Anyone know the rules…can I pull blackberries from the area on my own time? Can I clear it with someone first? How should I go about this?

sam-c April 18, 2012 (8:20 am)

do people in Fremont freak out when ‘waiting for the interurban’ gets decorated?

westseattlite: Idk- I would try and see what happens. let us know. I once contacted SDOT to see about clearing blackberries and other overgrowth in an SDOT – owned, undeveloped right of way street end in my neighborhood. they responded a couple times, and even visited the street end to check it out. they spoke to the resident that lives next door, who had concerns that the overgrowth contributed to her house being burglarized. anyway, long story short, what I heard through her was that SDOT would require me to get a $ 2,000- $3,000 permit for the privilege of cleaning their property. that didn’t go anywhere…

Truntru April 18, 2012 (9:03 am)

I too wish that a day besides Saturday would be scheduled for these clean-ups….

nancy38 April 18, 2012 (10:05 am)

The group, Walking on Logs Landscape Restoration, is a volunteer group. Most of us work M-F and weekends are when we can do clean ups. And generally, the weekends are when you can recruit additional volunteers to help out. However, if there are interested parties that want to work on blackberry removal M – F, please contact our group and we’ll see what can be arranged – we would love to have your help. To our knowledge there are no permits or fees involved but the city does, rightfully, have to take into consideration potential liability issues. You can call Nancy at 206-933-8204 if you are interested.