BELLINGHAM - "Grace" is gone.

About a year after an unknown artist secretly erected the metal sculpture on a rock near Taylor Dock in October 2011, he or she took it down.

The city of Bellingham leases the tidelands off of Boulevard Park, where the sculpture was placed, from the state Department of Natural Resources.

The artist ignored the city's process for permitting and approving public art in installing the sculpture, which showed a human form holding a yoga pose.

Afterward, city officials said they wouldn't tolerate such rogue art in the future, although they allowed "Grace" to stay.

"We have not had any other (rogue art) that I'm aware of," said Bellingham Parks Director James King. "If stuff started showing up in parks, we would immediately remove it."

As for the mystery artist, he or she recently wrote an anonymous Q & A for Cascadia Weekly explaining that the 400-pound sculpture was removed because it wasn't aging well and was becoming "a splotchy mess of rust and rivets."

"Grace" has been installed in a forest environment, according to the artist, who didn't reveal where that was.

As for the artist's identity, that's still not publicly known.

Reach KIE RELYEA at kie.relyea@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2234.