Gregory Glynn's Foundation

Gregory is one of the most focused artists I have met. We first worked together during the Art in the Meadow installation at Blakely Harbor two years ago, and would frequently run into each other at all hours of the day as he was raking vast mounds of cut grass into timber forms for his meadow piece. He is a hard worker and meets his work in an all-consuming physical way, whether methodically cutting and reassembling old growth logs for studio work, or tackling the sprawling ivy eradication project spearheaded by IslandWood.

And so with Foundation, his work was true to this form. Gregory had proposed building a dwelling out of scotch broom on a portion of the park that is perched high above the water, with views up to Mount Baker and down to Mount Rainier. It was to be a commentary about the site, its history as a residential area for creosote plant workers, its future as a green space accessible to all types of humanity, and its proximity to pricy homes with similar vistas.

As artwork does evolve through its emergent process, so did Gregory's, and the depth to which the actual piece touches on many issues surrounding struggles between humans and their landscapes became vast. When you approach the work on its dogleg away from the loop trail, you first see the clearing. This site was entirely populated by scotch broom at the outset of the exhibit, and Gregory cleared it by hand (along with two other significant patches of broom at other points on the site). The broom was laid in a methodical, stacking pattern to form a literal square footage of a foundation for a home, and over the first weeks of the installation, the branches wilted and the stack compressed. It now holds the weight of anyone who wishes to climb on it.

Further up the hill is the prime viewpoint, the sought after place at which one sees the surrounding Puget Sound. And the paradox is that Gregory has also made it into the viewpoint into a cleared section around three historic trees that were girdled -- a process in which external bark and cambium is systematically removed, here by a machete -- and left to die where they were rooted. The viewer is forced to consider a much darker side to the desire for ownership over territory.

Gregory's writes "Natural materials such as wood, stone, water, and vegetation are elements most often used in my sculpture. I’m interested in creating simple forms that explore a complex dichotomy of strength and vulnerability existing in nature. Inviting impermanence, factors such as time, weather, and the process of decay enable nature, the supreme sculptor, to have a final hand in the life cycle of each piece. My process is often physical and laborious but it is through work that I discover interesting problems are created and solved. Ultimately, my intention is to make artworks that evoke a sense of connection between us and this world which we exist.

Constructed from the invasive Scotch Broom that sprawls rampantly throughout Pritchard Park, Foundation is represented by a stacked footprint of a house. Spectacular views of Seattle, Puget Sound and Eagle Harbor can be appreciated here and offer an opportunity to reflect on recent occurrences and those that happened in years past."

Look for an article in this weekend's Islander about Gregory and his work, by Lin Kamer-Walker.