A Sculpture Park that Honors Poets & Writers

by | Sep 9, 2018 | Art, Creativity, vacations, Washington State | 15 comments

She was the first sculpture we saw–this girl, frozen in the act of writing, her books and paper suspended in midair. Well, well, I thought. It looks like I’m going to like this sculpture park.

I’d been  past the park before on various trips to San Juan Island, but there’s so much to see and do on the island, and from the road the sculpture park didn’t look that interesting. One afternoon, though, when other members of our group were kayaking, some of us decided to check it out.

It turns out that the San Juan Islands Sculpture Park is much more than we were able to see from the road. It’s made up of 20 acres of fields, forests, trails, and pond, making it the largest sculpture park in the Pacific Northwest. At any one time more than 150 unique juried creations are displayed there.

I’m a writer, so I was happy to see that the park features poems along with the sculptures. This poem was displayed beside a small willow-draped pond near the girl with her pen and floating paper.

Poems and quotations from various artists were scattered around the park. Here’s a quotation I saved from Marc Chagall:

What do you think, does the following sculpture holds up well against the God-made madrona tree?

madrona tree

Another quote:

When I think of art, I think of beauty. Beauty is the mystery of life. It is not in the eye, it is in the mind. In our minds there is awareness of perfection. –Agnes Martin

To my mind, this sculpture is perfection.

Another beauty

Beautiful in its own way

Our afternoon at the sculpture park got me thinking about the purpose of art, poetry, and literature.

To me, art is like a pointing finger. Look at this. Notice. Appreciate this small or big thing. Give some thought to it. Don’t rush past the moments of your life without taking note. The purpose: To enrich our lives through an appreciation of the world we live in.

How about you? What purpose do you see in art?

15 Comments

  1. evelyneholingue

    What a lovely park! Most people love art and nature together. The good thing is that each of us can see or feel our own way when admiring art in nature. Love the quotes you chose to illustrate this post, too.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Nature and art together, or nature in art. Both are enjoyable. I’m glad I was able to visit such a lovely park with my family. We also went zip-lining through the forest on that trip. My first time. It was thrilling but strenuous keeping up with the grandchildren as we hiked through the forest and climbed the towers.

      Reply
  2. derrickjknight

    A nice tour, Nicki. I like the crocodile. For me art is about stimulating emotional thought in others

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      I thought someone would like that crocodile. The materials the sculptor used certainly suited the subject.

      Reply
  3. nrhatch

    Art to me is a form of communication. Pieces either “speak to me” or they don’t. A piece of art might say, I am beautiful or whimsical or mysterious or sobering or . . . whatever. But if it remains silent, I lose interest.

    That said, I enjoyed the mixed media nature of this sculpture garden ~ words juxtaposed with sculpture seemed just “talkative” enough.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      The setting for these sculptures put me in just the right mood to listen to what they had to say. There were lots of trails, though, so near the end, I probably didn’t give some of them a fair chance to talk to me.

      Reply
  4. francisguenette

    Definitely putting this on a list for future sites to visit. We love sculptures and in a garden – what could be better. Thanks so much for bringing this beautiful spot to our attention in such an artistic way 🙂

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Just a little travel information: The sculpture park is at the edge of the Roche Harbor Resort. We’ve been going there since I was a kid. My dad, who was a carpenter, built a 20-foot cabin cruiser, so we spent some summer weekends cruising around the San Juan Islands. The old Hotel de Haro, which was built in 1886, is still there, and there’s lots of history about the town that grew up around the lime kilms of the late 19th century.

      If you haven’t been to San Juan Island before, please note that the ferry from Anacortes takes reservations. If you come by boat, you can go through Customs right in Roche Harbor. San Juan Island is a great trip. You’ll love it.

      Reply
  5. roughwighting

    How I love this first sculpture on your post. It “speaks” to me, as does your entire post. To me, the best art (be it painting/sculpture/poetry/writing, etc) is art that touches the heart, opens the soul and the eyes to something joyful and beautiful within as well as without. And of course, art can also educate and focus on wrongs that need to be righted.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      I think the reason the first sculpture speaks to me is that it depicts someone I can identify with. It not only gives value to the solitary act of writing; it lends it a touch of romance to it.

      I love your explanation of what you think the best art does. I’m so glad I asked the question.

      Reply
  6. autumnashbough

    Those are lovely. I like art that is personal, that makes you reflect on your own life, but I also like art that challenges you, or opens your eyes to truths that you’ve missed.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Your first point, art that is personal, is easier to find. For example, in my house I have large a watercolor of a balinese dancer sitting on her heels, looking away from me, that feels personal to me because of the colors and the serenity. Art that challenges or opens your eyes to new truths is more rare. In Santa Fe last May we visited some galleries that had some challenging, eye-opening paintings (all of which were out of my price range.)

      Reply
  7. L. Marie

    Wow! Thank you for this stroll through the sculpture park, Nicki! What a lovely place to have nearby. So many wonderful things to see. Thank you for those photos. I can feel my heart lifting as I looked at each one. That seems to be one of the purposes of art–to enrich the soul.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      The sculptures I photographed leaned heavily on the realistic side. Some of the more abstract sculptures were also nice, though.

      I love what you say about art enriching the soul.

      Reply

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