Public Art

3888 state route 101 ilwaco, wa 98612 (click for map) | More info at www.fws.gov/wilapa

The Story of 1 in 8

Some time ago, I came across a startling article about extinction that made real for me, the enormity of the loss of plant and animal life we could experience in a very short period of time.  This article also gave me the idea for the title of this piece.  In it, I read that according to over 10,000 scientists in the World Conservation Union, “…by the year 2100, 1 in 8 birds will be extinct.”  One in 3 amphibians and 1 in 4 mammals will also be gone.  Harvard biologist, Edward O. Wilson, predicts that “…our present course will lead to the extinction of half of all plant and animal species by the year 2100. “ 

With the hope of doing something to try to stop this horrible prediction from becoming reality, I set about developing a public sculpture proposal for the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge Interpretive Art Trail.  I wanted to find a way to illustrate both extinction and biodiversity through sculpture and to simultaneously express loss and hope.  I wanted to bring attention to this prediction and to get more people interested and involved in protecting wildlife.

In July, 2008, I presented my proposal to the Refuge staff and to The Friends of Willapa National Refuge Group.  The concept was met with great enthusiasm and was immediately accepted.  Since then The Friends Group worked hard to secure funds from individual donors and grants in support of the project and it has become a reality.

As part of my research for 1 in 8, I spoke with scientists and birders, visited ornithology collections and studied the mechanics and importance of costal estuaries.  I found inspiration in literary works and marveled at the functionality, sheer beauty and variety of form, color and patterns found on feathers.  In an effort to find the right materials to convey such beauty and make it last in a public and physically demanding environment, I consulted a broad range of fabricators, including industrial enamelists, metalsmiths, sculptors, engineers, painters and paint manufacturers.

The actual creation of 1 in 8 involved help from many talented people.  Please see the “Thank You” page for a list of all of them.

1 in 8 celebrates the beauty and diversity of the birds that are still with us at the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge and by extension, brings attention to the vital role that each and every species of plant and animal, rare or common, plays in ecosystems throughout the world.  In so doing it draws attention to the potential for and impact of, their loss. 

When lined up next to each other, the natural range in size and color of the feathers of only a handful of different bird species naturally illustrates biodiversity.   When their feathers are enlarged above and beyond human scale, these often overlooked creatures, are given monumental status.

Atop the pedestal that supports the feathers, where the quills meet the concrete, a poem is inscribed in bronze.  Some of you may know this poem quite well.  Odds are that when she wrote it, this poet could not have imagined what new meanings it would conjure up in the context of today’s world.    This poem was written by Emily Dickinson in 1861.  She titled it, simply,  “Poem 254.”

“Hope” is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard--

And sore must be the storm—

That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—

I've heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.

-Emily Dickinson ca. 1861