The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs will dedicate Elizabeth Conner’s Painting and Sculpting the Land and Drawing the Land at the Jefferson Park Jubilee opening ceremony at Beacon Hill’s Jefferson Park, noon to 1 p.m., this  Saturday, July 14. Meet the artist following the opening ceremony, which will feature Mayor Mike McGinn, Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, Consul General of Japan Kiyokazu Ota and Public Art Program Director Ruri Yampolsky, among other speakers.

Conner collaborated with park architects Berger Partnership to integrate two artistic elements at the park. Painting and Sculpting the Land serves as a rain garden/water feature with plants that create a ring of contrasting colors and textures. Drawing the Land incorporates rows of colored concrete contour lines that indicate the depth of the original reservoir and provide history of the site.

The Jefferson Park Jubilee will celebrate improvements made to the park, the 100th anniversary of the Olmsted Park Plan, and the 100th anniversary of the “Gift of Cherry Trees” from Japan to the United States. The event will include Taiko and Bon Odori (Japanese style of dance) performances.

The park is located at 4165 16th Ave. S. Limited parking is available on the street. The site is accessible by bus or bike.

About the Artist
A sculptor and installation artist, Conner has more than 20 years’ experience creating work for public places throughout the United States. She is fascinated by how change affects and transforms individuals, communities and places over time. She enjoys learning about how things function in order to reveal what is not commonly known about what we encounter on a regular basis: a river, a city, a building or the infrastructure beneath our feet.

Conner holds an MFA in visual art from Vermont College of Fine Arts  and a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts. She was one of the 12 original members of VALISE Gallery and Collective on Vashon Island, Wash.; she currently teaches art at the University of Washington, Tacoma; and serves on the board of the Washington State Arts Commission.

Painting and Sculpting the Land and Drawing the Land were commissioned with Seattle Parks and Recreation 2000 Parks Levy 1% for Art funds and Seattle Public Utilities 1% for Art and construction funds.

Image: Elizabeth Conner, Drawing the Land, 2012. Located at Jefferson Park in Beacon Hill. Photo by Spike Mafford.