Arts Festival grants fund cormorant sculpture and more Posted by Jacob Buckenmeyer | May 16, 2012 | 431 views

Tracy Powell’s newest stone sculpture, “Cormorant Drying Her Wings,” was installed along the Ship Harbor trail near the Washington State Ferries terminal May 9.

The following day, Powell returned to the site to check that the work was successful.

“I like to feature our local celebrities,” he said of his choice to represent the sea bird commonly found around Fidalgo Island, often on the pilings that surround the ferry landing.

The sculpture is granite and rests over three pillars meant to represent pilings.

The sculpture faces west and looks to the sky. The bird’s wings are outstretched in a typical cormorant posture, to let the sun and wind dry her after diving for fish.

Powell said this is not his first cormorant sculpture. He made one of bronze years ago for the city of Anacortes, and it was gifted to Kisakata, Japan, one of Anacortes’ sister cities known now as Nikaho. Cormorants abound in that region of Japan as well, he said.

Powell said he was almost finished with the sculpture when he applied for a $6,500 grant from the Anacortes Arts Festival that funded his work. The grant was one of 11 awarded this year by the Arts Festival, which gave out $26,000 overall.

Other grants went to:
• Anacortes Arts Commission — $1,000; loaned sculpture program.
• Anacortes Arts Foundation — $1,000; Early Music series.
• Anacortes Farmers Market — $2,100; music at the market.
• Anacortes High School — $2,200; raku kiln for ceramics.
• Anchor Access — $1,500; workshops, stipends.
• Anacortes School District — $9,000; Cultural Arts Series.
• Anacortes Boys & Girls Club — $2,500; fine arts program.
• Anacortes Community Theatre — $900; Class ACT stage, support.
• Fidalgo DanceWorks — $1,000; office equipment.
• Skagit River Poetry Project — $1,800.