If you missed it in the comments on this post last night – “West Seattle Art Attack,” the mysterious glass artist who roamed West Seattle around Halloween (as reported here, here, here, and here), has surfaced again. Pictured at left is one of the “elves” who accompanied WSAA on an attempt to find a certain house last night; we’re told they may be out and about again over the weekend – stand by for updates.
I hope they leave some in some neighborhoods that could use a little art. Not just at super swank houses that they seemed to hit last time.
Not complaining (at least not trying to!!), but the few pics of the one house documented here last attack seemed to be at places that only the butler may notice the art. ;)
Hi, jrd – if you look at the four photos at the bottom of this post:
https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=3920
we live close to the two in the middle (and rued that WSAA didn’t accidentally find US!) and we can verify they are not anything resembling swank. Especially the third one, a Gatewood warbox even smaller than our cozy abode.
My apologies – the first photo seemed to be of an awesome house – man, wish my porch looked so good!
I took the “places that could use more art” reference a little too literally.
I think I just want a globe. ;)
On a side note, WSB, I think I speak for all of West Seattle – I’m addicted to this blog. I’ve had 2 different West Seattlites point it out to me. Thanks for all the hard work.
So, because there seems to be some confusion, here are the WSAA “rules of engagement:”
There are thousands of houses in West Seattle so the chances of getting attacked are pretty slim. Don’t count on one of these surprises as a Christmas gift because odds of winning are far worse than the lottery. WSAA can’t please everyone. After our first “attack” that was reported in the blog (there have been others that never made it to the public) we were requested to head toward Alki and the south end of California Ave. We did – in an attempt to maybe get lucky and actually randomly pick the right house. We’re learning that the “needle in a haystack” nature of this does not work in our favor. Future “attacks” will not be made in an attempt to respond to requests through the blog – it’s got to be totally random – that’s the beauty of the whole thing.
Keep in mind that this is not a Chihuly attack. These are pieces that for some reason or another (which in many cases is just the whim of the artist) do not meet the standards the artist has set for selling or gifting of a piece. The reason these are placed in the yard is because they are considered “yard art.”
WSAA never “attacks” close friends or family because other close friends or family might have their feelings hurt. This is all about giving randomly to make people happy – not to make people sad because they were excluded.
Our philosophy is not so much about giving to places that “could use more art” as it is to giving to places that would “appreciate more art.” That’s a subtle yet distinct difference. A piece of glass art in an unkempt yard looks like litter – no matter how loved it is. A piece of glass art strategically placed in a yard that is obviously tended and loved meets the objectives of WSAA. Case(s) in point – the blue bottle house and the flower house on Alki. Both examples of houses that obviously spend a lot of time and energy on creating a unique environment that can be enjoyed by people other than themselves. They also expressed great thanks through the WSB for finding their art attack surprise. Why should they be punished for having a nice house near the water? Just like you, jrd, I’m jealous of their places but I don’t hold it against them. . . .
The responses on the blog are our only form of reward (other than knowing we’re doing something good and fun). Without WSB we’d have no idea whether the attacks were even discovered. I’m pretty sure the comments about the butler finding the “gift” are causing quite a chuckle from the folks that spend countless hours creating their special sanctuaries.
One last thing (ok, maybe two or three or four). If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all – how’s that for a simple and easy to remember guideline? This whole effort is designed to teach my kids how much fun it can be to sneak around under cover of darkness and bring happiness to other people with no other motive but to bring joy. When it stops being fun and we start taking heat why would we continue?
Many thanks for the invite to participate in the Bulb Liberation Front activities but the prospect of wearing a dress while planting bulbs is just a smidge out of character for this “attacker.” Totally loved the concept other than the dress part. . . . .
We’ve thanked the blog both publicly and privately (although we have yet to meet personally) and they’ve been a key to the success of WSAA. If you’ve been attacked or have just been touched by the ongoing WSAA activities please take a couple minutes to throw some bucks in the WSB tip jar. That request is totally unsolicited by WSB, it’s just WSAA’s way of saying thanks.
Finally, we’ll be roaming the streets tonight so keep your eyes on the blog for another update tomorrow.
Wouldn’t it be great if WSAA could help catch the peeper while they’re out?? Joy and justice all in one!!
I totally love the “random acts of kindness” embodied in the West Seattle Art Attacks project. I’ve spoken with my butler, and he would definitely not be the only one to notice if our yard were such a beneficiary. There used to be a guy at the Farmers Market who sold arc-welder cut metal yard pieces for a very reasonable price. I’ve been missing him at the market but did buy a few of his pieces to enhance the yard earlier in the summer. I think yard art is subtle and I’m fortunate to live in an area of WS which has a lot of subtlety to the yards.
Thank you, WSAA for embodying what the spirit of this season, or any season, is sposed to be all about! Peace to you and to the rest of us.
Art & kindness: what a lovely combination.
Happiest of holidays to the WSAA! Peace to you for bringing joy at a much needed time.
Random acts of kindness are a wonderful thing, what a great thing to teach to your children. I want to applaud you and challenge others to find a way to do a random act of kindness, it is really a very fun thing to do! Do it for the joy of it!
From clues in earlier posts I thought WSB lived near me. Now it’s confirmed. He he.
WSAA – Don’t let the turkeys (or Grinches) get you down! Those of us without lovely yards OR butlers (dangit – I always wanted one of those) are just jealous! You keep sharin’ your little vessels of love and we’ll holler the love right back at ya!
I want a butler…AND a personal chef ;-)
But..no yard here…well, there’s the front of my apartment bldg., but landlord has let it go to he** – not exactly the atmosphere for the nice glass art that needs love :)
FYI all, we have received a communique from WSAA about strikes on Saturday night. Will post the full report with photos by midmorning Sunday.
Random acts of kindness are the best — thank you WSAA (and WSB for publicizing). Ya’ know, kids, we don’t have to be artists to think up and perform such acts — look around you and do — as long as you don’t worry about being noticed, you’ll be amazed and amused. Make something lovely out of something ugly (or something ordinary) — make it removeable and make so no one would ever want to remove it. And thanks again to all who do.
Random acts of “art” bring warm joy and peace to all…. Keep up the good work you made the Blue Bottle house happy on halloween. Our garden art is out there to bring a little bit of joy for all our friends who pass by……Warm wishes for a happy holiday seasons….Art forever,Chase
I freakin’ LOVE West Seattle! I better tidy up my yard a bit more in case WSAA attacks seaview…
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