Stacy Levy, 2012, Straw Garden: from Wattle to Watershed (proposal drawing).

Stacy Levy will create a temporary artwork at Seattle Center’s Broad Street Green as part of its The Next Fifty 50th anniversary celebration. The Broad Street Green—Green Infrastructure Project will address protecting the water quality of local waterways. The artwork will be on view from April 21 through Oct. 21.

Levy’s installation will be composed of wattles—tightly wrapped straw cylinders used to aid in re-vegetation and erosion control on steep hillsides—arranged in configurations that resemble Baroque garden formations. The sculpture will morph from controlled shapes into more naturalistic patterns that resemble water as it moves across the landscape. The wattles will be planted with seeds from native annual and perennial plants, making the artwork a “living sculpture” that will change throughout Seattle Center’s anniversary celebration.

Levy is a Pennsylvania-based sculptor whose interest in the natural world rests both in art and science. She uses art as a vehicle for translating the patterns and processes of nature. Levy has works in several national and international collections including Eastlake Cornerstones and Cloudstones with the city of Seattle.

Levy’s artwork was selected from a group of four proposals submitted by nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. Developed in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle Center, the Broad Street Green—Green Infrastructure Project is intended to raise public awareness of environmental stewardship, especially as it connects to SPU’s work. The artwork is commissioned with SPU 1% for Art funds and administered by the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.