Blue Sky Baskets

Date: 2000

Dimensions: 120” x  32” x 32”; 136” x 48” x 48”; 140” x 36” x 36”

Media: Cast bronze, Copper-nickel pipe, metal stains

Commissioned by: White Center Community Development Association, and funded in part by the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. 

Three unique cast bronze baskets referencing the history of human migration are set on three copper nickel columns. The columns are studded with 75 small unique bronze castings intended to represent old-fashioned “luggage stickers.” The subject matter for the “stickers” was contributed by community members, especially school children from White Center Heights Elementary School. The “stickers” are polychromed using transparent metal stains.

Blue Sky Baskets in White Center

Blue Sky Baskets in White Center

Three cast bronze baskets referencing the history of human migration are set on tall copper-nicke columns anchoring a small urban plaza in White Center, south of Seattle.

Blue Sky Baskets with Luggage Stickers

Blue Sky Baskets with Luggage Stickers

The three bronze baskets are mounted on columns that are covered with bronze "luggage stickers" drawn by people in the community.

Blue Sky Basket "Buoy"

Blue Sky Basket "Buoy"

The unique cast bronze baskets are named for their shapes, and each depicts a different traditional basket weave pattern. "Buoy" is woven in a stair-step pattern.

Blue Sky Basket "Bump"

Blue Sky Basket "Bump"

The cast bronze basket called "Bump" is woven in a horizontal zig-zag pattern.

Blue Sky Basket "Bullet"

Blue Sky Basket "Bullet"

The cast bronze basket named "Bullet" is woven in a vertical zig-zag pattern.

Bronze Luggage Sticker "Aztec Mask"

Bronze Luggage Sticker "Aztec Mask"

A local student contributed this Aztec design for one of the unique cast bronze "luggage stickers."

Bronze Luggage Sticker "Costa Rica"

Bronze Luggage Sticker "Costa Rica"

The Luggage Stickers were based on drawings by community members of all ages. After reproducing the drawings in cast bronze, they were tinted with metal stains.

Bronze Luggage Sticker "Chicken House"

Bronze Luggage Sticker "Chicken House"

An imaginative 4th grader drew a "Vietnamese Chicken House" for one of the cast bronze luggage stickers. The bronzes were cast flat, and then slightly curved to fit the column before being welded on.