Congrats to Shelton, WA-based artist, Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, who has been selected to create a site-responsive artwork for the Delta Pond at the Brightwater Treatment Facility. Andrea was selected from a group of 29 artists nominated for the opportunity to create an artwork that will bring the history, imagery, perspectives, and culture of the indigenous First Peoples of Puget Sound to this significant water infrastructure project.
Brightwater is a new regional wastewater treatment plant being constructed in response to increased growth in our region. Scheduled to open in the spring of 2011, the 114-acre site located just north of the City of Woodinville will include a treatment plant, an extensive conveyance system consisting of pipes and pumps that take wastewater to and from the plant, and a marine outfall to Puget Sound. The Delta Pond is a natural detention pond in the foreground, landform landscape of the Brightwater facility that will drain directly to Little Bear Creek, a salmon bearing creek that runs the entire western length of the facility across State Route-9.
Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, a member of the Squaxin Island Tribe and descendant of the Skokomish tribe and many other tribes of Puget Sound, is the first documented native woman carver of many generations of carvers. Her artistic life began at the age of three surrounded by an artistic community that included elders such as her Kia Louisa Pulsifer, Emily and Georgie Miller, Great Grandfather Andrew Peterson, Aunt Bertha Visser and her Grandfather Bert Wilbur. She has recently worked with well-known master carvers including her parents Andy and Ruth Wilbur-Peterson, Loren White and Susan Point.
Known for her community ethic and commitment to the preservation of Salish tradition, Andrea teaches a range of traditional Salish crafts to family, friends, and the public. Her recent public work includes a 7-foot round spindal at the Evergreen State College Longhouse and the creation of glass panels and seating elements for the Puyallup Elders Center. Andrea has won awards for her carvings at various exhibits and competitions and has also mastered other Salish art forms including beadwork, button blankets, and basketry.
Image of Andrea Wilbur-Sigo © Fritz Dent
