February 19, 2011 - Roots and Branches

Towering inside of the Experience Music Project is "If VI were IX: Roots and Branches" by Trimpin, a working artwork consisting of over 500 musical instruments.  Robotic arms coordinated by computer pick strings of numerous instruments within the work to create a continuous soundscape composed by the artist.

One of the exhibits, "Guitar Gallery: Quest for Volume" traces the evolution of the guitar from 1770 to today through more than 50 extremely rare guitars including (from left to right) a 1959 Fender Jazzmaster, a 1955 Gretsch 6120 and a 1957 Fender Flying V Prototype.

The Experience Music Project - Museum of Music, Sci-Fi and Pop Culture - is housed in a 140,000 square foot near the base of the Space Needle at Seattle Center.  The unique building, designed by Frank O. Gearhy, was inspired by his use of the pieces he had cut out of several electric guitars.  Local firm LMN Architects was the Associate Architect on the project.

Current exhibits include: "Guitar Gallery: Quest for Volume" and "Jimi Hendrix: An Evolution of Sound" and "Battlestar Gallactica: The Exhibition".  There is also an interactive Sound Lab in which one can be guided through an exploration of the tools of rock.  Coming in April is "Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses".  In June, "Avatar: The Exhibition" will open.

The founder of EMP, Paul Allen, is a huge fan of rock and roll and of science fiction.  His collection of rock and roll memorabilia, including that of Seattle's Jimi Hendrix, led to the creation of EMP. Over 4.5 million people have come through the EMP since it opened in 2000.

February 8, 2011 - Ebey Slough

The Ebey Slough Bridge emerges as the fog burns off.  The bridge is a swing-span bridge built in 1925. The entire 700 foot span pivots in the middle allowing marine traffic higher than 10 feet to pass. The operator of the bridge sits in the box-like structure suspended above the bridge decking.  The two-lane bridge carries about 17,000 drivers a day on State Route 529 between Marysville and Everett, 35 miles north of Seattle. It is being replaced by a four lane, fixed-span bridge with sidewalks and separate bicycle lanes. The new bridge is expected to open in 2013 at a cost of $43 million.


Ebey Slough is an inlet of Puget Sound and part of the Snohomish River and tributaries – which includes the Skykomish, Tolt, Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers – that empties into Puget Sound in Everett.

February 10, 2011 - Shorthand For Kiss

A waxing crescent moon as seen from inside "The Kiss", a ten foot high cor-ten steel sculpture X by Michael Sweeney located at Ronald Bog Park in Shoreline, north of Seattle.    The bog is an ancient peat bog that are the headwaters of the Thornton Creek watershed.  (See "December 9, 2010 - Thornton Creek.)  The bog even has its own blog!

February 5, 2011 - Broken Obelisk

"Broken Obelisk" by the abstract expressionist Barnett Newman, primarily a painter, stands in Red Square on the University of Washington campus.  The two ton steel sculpture was designed in 1963 and donated to the UW by Virginia Wright.  The sculpture has been repaired at least twice before to reinforce the intersection of the pyramid and obelisk.  The repairs have made the sculpture slightly different than the other two sculptures by Newman that are at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Rothko Chapel in Houston.  Beyond the sculpture is the collegiate gothic style of Suzallo Library.

February 2, 2011 - Heron Now

"Coastal Salish Heron" by David Franklin and the Tolt Bridge on the Snoqualmie River are silhouetted by the sun rising over the Cascade Foothills.

The Tolt Bridge is the most recent crossing at this location.  This double truss bridge replaced a single truss bridge located 160 feet downstream in 2008. 

The metal art is a modernized depiction of a coastal tribe's Coastal Heron.