Come celebrate the inauguration Sunday, August 11, of artist Melissa Koch’s Wishing Wall, located behind the sculpture of Hope the Wishing Whale, at Anthes and First Streets in Langley.
The Langley Arts Fund sponsored the art installation and reception, which takes place from10 AM to 4PM.
Partnering with the Langley Creates Creative District, Langley Arts Fund received an $18,750 grant from the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA), along with community contributions for a total of $54,000 to fund, design and create the metal art installation, an homage to our natural world.
The powder-coated copper-hued metal artwork depicts our Salish Sea landscape—its underwater undulating bull kelp, salmon and visiting whales. Near shore life is seen in flowers, hummingbirds, songbirds and a Great Blue Heron.
Melissa’s artist’s statement about the project:
“Color, texture, light, patterns and shapes emanating from nature have always fascinated me. Much of the inspiration for my work comes from forests, meadows, mountains, the waters, flora and fauna that abundantly surround us in the Northwest and our deep connection with this natural environment.
“My work acts upon the conviction that art can be a powerful vehicle to engender conversations centered on the potential for humans to develop a more compassionate relationship with the natural world and reflect upon the impact our habitation can have on the planet.
“The Wishing Wall installation is a site specific project that reflects upon the specific nature and location of Langley and the relationship between the land and the sea that is part of our experience here.
The cutout imagery acts as an uplifting backdrop for Georgia Gerber’s bronze whale, reminding us of the beautiful and delicate natural environment we live near and our connection to this delicate ecosystem.”
I met with Melissa Koch Aug. 5 in the shade of bird song trees at the South Whidbey Commons to talk about her art and our views on life.
Melissa is someone with whom I fall into an easy flow of conversation.
“It’s interesting to open our conversation about a wall,” she said. “Most of my life is focused about telling stories. My inspiration is to reawaken the connection between humans and nature that we are a family. Animals and plants do not need to be feared. We can name them and know them. The birds know me in this town. I feed them and put water out for them. There’s a connection. It’s dear. I get to see a lot of lovely relationships in that kingdom of other sentient beings.”
Melissa said her latest artwork—she specializes in cut out shapes—represents “the relationships between the air, water, the land, the plants, the birds, the insects. That there’s a symbiosis between everything. These living beings are not just things, they have a kinship of kindred spirit.”
I’ve written in the past about Melissa and her art which reflects our connection with Mother Earth. Learn about some of her past work: Healing Our Salish Sea So That Orcas Can Return to Health, and Taking a Deep Breath.
We talked about how so much angst can be caused about the need to own and acquire things, and how easily compassion for one another can be forgotten.
“We don’t own the land,” Melissa said. “Every indigenous person will tell us that. We’re all just passing through. The land is sacred. Kick off your shoes, you are walking on holy ground. We get caught up in ownership.”
Melissa’s latest art is something for the public to enjoy because we all own it.
In closing our visit, Melissa asked, “How do we summarize this? I would say the focus is not me. I am a vehicle. The focus is all of you, in each of you have been given gifts and purpose. If my work can inspire you to go inside, stop and find your gifts, find your thread, have the courage, the pleasure, the joy. Joseph Campbell called it bliss—to find your inner story and bring that out into the world. And then all of us can connect our threads, connect our goods to serve this greater purpose and help together to weave together this new world and new human beings we are becoming.”
To learn more about Melissa Koch’s work visit her webpage.