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SARAH KAVAGE

I’m a Seattle based visual artist and cultural organizer who makes ephemeral art about place. 

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PAINTING & DESIGN

SARAH KAVAGE

I’m a Seattle based visual artist who makes artwork about place. 

HOME
ABOUT
PAINTING & DESIGN

GREEN RIVER FAMILY

2023
with DirtCorps and Nicoterra Trails

Crew: Al, Andrew, Cesar, Danielle, Fedora, Jose, Kimberly, LaToya,  Roseann

This project supported by a McMillen Foundation artist fellowship

Thanks to
Beacon Food Forest, the City of Tukwila, King County, Seattle CityLight

Photos
Roseann Barnhill, Jason Neuerberg, Sarah Kavage


Once you go upstream 10 miles or so, the Duwamish River becomes the Green, a legacy of all the engineering of regional watersheds. Once upon a time, the Cedar, the Green, the White, and the Black Rivers all drained into the Duwamish. The Black mostly dried up when the cutting of the Ship Canal lowered Lake Washingon by 9 feet. The Cedar was diverted to drain into Lake Washington. A flood caused the White River to divert south. What is now left is one river with two names.

These living willow sculptures along the riverbank were created in partnership with DirtCorps and Nicoterra Trails, as part of DirtCorps’ ongoing restoration of this site. The sculptures expand the restoration area and call attention to the important work being done to create better habitat along the river. Not only will the work grow and change through the years and the seasons, but the restoration will continue to expand.

And, lastly, when people from around these parts hear the words "Green River" there is one additional word that comes to mind. Of course it's not the river's fault that one person chose to do horrible things along it, but the river is still blamed and feared because of it. During our build, we talked about the distinct personality of each piece as the work emerged, and how it related to the rest of the group, as if it were a family. So it felt right to put a new third word after "Green River" as a way to create a different future for the river and the chosen family that cares for it.

Visit
13046-10646 Green River Trail, Tukwila, WA 98188
Between the Green River Trail and the River, just south of Strander Boulevard.



------ THE BUILD, DAY BY DAY ------

DAY 1 - TUESDAY 3/21
Here’s how the day started, sorting out materials and tools. The big chunky brown things to the right of the willow are man root, which grows a person sized rhizome that the crew pulled out a few weeks ago while digging blackberries.  Apparently a lot of folks are on vacation this week and Roseann was concerned that there wouldn’t be enough people to get the work done. We put those concerns to rest and  accomplished a lot with our crew of 4! This will probably be the largest and wildest of a series of similarly shaped forms. Andrew called it “Twisty” and it stuck. Its shape (totally coincidentally) mirrors the shape of an old twisty maple just down the trail.

DAY 2 - WEDNESDAY 3/22
Today began with the realization that we (facepalm) had to move to a new site about 30 yards away. We were worried that the large twisty structure we'd made the previous day would be fragile and difficult to move but it was surprisingly strong and resilient and we planted it near its friend the twisted maple. Fedora stopped by with a shoulder injury, so weaving was the perfect activity. The rest of us mostly hacked away at the blackberries and prodigious man root to clear space for the next sculptures. The sun came out and dazzled us all after the long cold winter. End of day crew photo: Roseann, Al, Sarah, Andrew Our new spot is maybe even better than the first one.

DAY 3 - THURSDAY 3/23

Our little worksite along the river. Our crew today was a gentle yet so powerful force :) Jose and Cesar learned twining to make this big basket, still in progress. Day 3 crew awesomeness: Cesar, Danielle, Me (Sarah), Latoya, Kimberly, Jose, Al

DAY 4 - FRIDAY 3/24

LaToya was ready for advanced weaving school and had the idea to create a third, suspended element between the two adjacent sculptures. The Twins, in progress The Twins, completed Al working on the last section of their sculpture. Cesar, Jose, and Kimberly decided to plant a small bouquet of budding willows in the large basket, like a vase :) Kimberly gives the uprights of the big basket a final chop - we vacillated on how much to cut them (so much pressure!) and are excited for them to sprout a bunch of shoots. Final day crew pic: Jose, Roseann, Kimberly, Cesar, LaToya, Al, Sarah

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