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Two in Tow & On the Go | It’s OK to play on these works of art

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Last month in Gig Harbor Now, writer Jennifer Preston discussed the importance of not only having public art in Gig Harbor — but playable art as well.

Here at Two In Tow & On The Go, we’re all for that. So I’m going to tell you about three South Sound public art pieces that I’ve personally verified as being A-OK to play and climb on. Heck, they’re even designed for it! And don’t worry, those annoying Target balls aren’t one of them. #IYKYK. (And if you don’t know – kids love climbing on those, but due to their curbside location in front of busy Target stores, those crazy spheres are just one slip and topple away from disaster).

“Seaform”

Our first favorite piece of local playable art is one we’ve written about before — Gig Harbor’s very own “Seaform” concrete shell that’s been a Crescent Creek Park staple for decades. The eight-ton climbable mollusk, installed on the north end of the park near the creek lookout, was sculpted in 1975 by late artist Oliver Tiedeman. News reports, like the above clip from the Tacoma News Tribune, said Tiedeman intended for Seaform to be explored from all directions — inside and out. Clara and Wyatt were immediately drawn to its curvy and cave-like structures reminiscent of giant snails and seashells. Its construction in reinforced materials makes it sturdy, too! After all, the thing has lasted nearly four decades of kids (and probably some adults) climbing, crawling and exploring.

RELATED POST:  Two in Tow & On the Go: Get to know Crescent Creek Park at Gig Harbor Now

FIND IT: Crescent Creek Park is located at 3303 Vernhardson St. on Gig Harbor’s east side. Known to longtime residents simply as “City Park,” the site is also home to rentable picnic structures and the popular Maritime PlayZone boat, spinning buoy and swings.

“Fat Tire #7”

Wyatt and Clara on Fat Tire #7. Photo by Tonya Strickland.

Our second favorite playable public art the kids love around here is located across the bridge and way over at the fantastic Puyallup Pioneer Park. And it’s well worth the 21-mile drive. The late Lance Carleton’s “Fat Tire #7” Climbing Sculpture is a bicycle crafted in repurposed steel. Designed with oversized pieces, Fat Tire #7 is outfitted with step-up foot pedals and seats for two, all to encourage the exploration of motion and art that Carleton said he loved so much. PS: If you’re like me and wondered if there are Fat Tires 1 though 6 out in the world somewhere, I did find a “#4” in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I’m lovin’ that big wheel!

FIND IT:  The bike artwork is located at Puyallup Pioneer Park, 300 S. Meridian, along the concrete walkways between the splash pad and the playground. If anyone gives you grief for climbing it, which they shouldn’t, you just tell ’em Two In Tow sent ya!

RELATED POST: All About Fat Tire #7 in Puyallup 

 “Mussel Beach”

Clara at Mussel Beach. Photo by Tonya Strickland.

Artist Verena Schwippert designed her Gig Harbor sculpture trio “Mussel Beach” as a nod to “the rich marine life and abundance of seafood in the Gig Harbor bay and Puget Sound,” according to the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA). Her feature page there goes on to say that the shelled structures at Eddon Boat Park are designed to be fun and welcoming and “also provide a place to gather, talk, and sit.”

Sitting is nice — but how about standing on the cutest and smallest one with your little kid arms stretched way high to the sky? Because that’s the first thing Clara did after eyeing the granite rock artwork from our curbside seat along Harborview Drive at the 2023 Maritime Gig Grande Parade.

As a sculptor, Schwippert looks to granite as her favorite medium by taking inspiration from the “megalithic Stone Age sites in Northern Germany, where she grew up. 

FIND IT: Eddon Boat Park, northeast corner, along the outdoor pathway at 3510 Grandview St.

The Zoo Sculptures

Up top I mentioned I had three South Sound public art pieces for you … but how about a bonus?? There are three more kid art locations on my camera roll! And they’re at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma.  If you’re interested in learning more about the zoo’s collection of public art, playable or not, check it out this listing.

“The Family”

 “E.T. The Walrus”

• This bronze replica is of the late E.T., a Pacific walrus that lived at the zoo for 33 years and wowed generations of visitors with his friendly personality. Today, the giant artwork in his likeness  – standing “slightly larger than life at 10.6 feet long, 8 feet wide and 6 feet high” – is every child’s favorite thing to climb up – and slide down. According to this cool article the zoo posted (with videos!), “E.T. was famous for his friendliness to visitors, including a famous flipper wave.” As such, … legend has it that folks are also encouraged to high-five his big ‘ol bronze arm on their way into the zoo. E.T. arrived at the zoo as an orphan calf in 1982 and passed away in 2015. His memorial statue was unveiled two years later. Artist Matthew Gray Palmer worked to recreate the beloved mammal by capturing both physical features – and also his personality. “E.T. touched our hearts in a rare and special way,” the Metro Parks Tacoma’s Board of Commissioners said in a statement. “Generations of visitors grew to know and love Pacific walruses through this gentle giant. Now generations more will, too.” FIND IT: Located at the zoo’s main entrance, by the ticket booths, before you enter the gates.

“Beloved Ivan”

UPDATE | Turns out, the “Beloved Ivan” sculpture of Tacoma’s famous western lowland gorilla isn’t playable art. The zoo peeps tell me that they actually discourage climbing on or around the Ivan statue created by the talented Douglas Granum. The artwork is located on the cement walkway and staircases leading up to the zoo’s main entrance from the parking lot.

Ivan was the IRL primate who famously grew up with the Johnston family of Tacoma for three and a half years and majorly befriended their son, Larry. Ivan later lived at the kooky B&I shopping mall in Lakewood where he was displayed for the public. After many years, Ivan eventually moved to a gorilla habitat at Zoo Atlanta before passing away in 2012 at age 50, according to the zoo’s website.

Granum shaped the replica in a pose inspired by a photo of Ivan in real life. In fact, the inspo came from a moment captured by Tacoma News Tribune journalist Dean Koepfler when he photographed Ivan “touching a Magnolia blossom on the first day in his new outdoor enclosure at Zoo Atlanta,” according to The Ivan Foundation. 

The 6-foot-tall, 600-pound replica is intended to draw people from across Washington state – and perhaps from around the world,” said Ron Irwin, son of longtime B&I owner Earl Irwin in a statement: “Our vision was to create a sculpture that would. “It is our hope that those who come to see the sculpture will be inspired to learn more about Ivan’s story and about gorillas in the wild.”

Make sure to follow this link to check out more of Ivan’s fascinating and heartwarming story (he’s our favorite Tacoma celebrity). And remember to catch the book — and the Disney movie!

FIND IT: Situated on the concrete ramp and stair walkway between the zoo’s parking lot and front entrance.