‘Grace’ — Bellingham’s rogue statue — reappears, but how long will she stay this time?
If there is one thing Bellingham — and pretty much everywhere else, for that matter — needs after a difficult 2020 and rough start to 2021, it’s a little grace.
As if on cue, that’s exactly what we got last weekend — “Grace” is back.
Reappearing almost as mysteriously as she first showed up more than eight years earlier, Bellingham’s rogue statue — “Grace” — re-assumed her Natarajasana yoga pose near the Bellingham’s South Bay Trail north of the Taylor Street Dock.
Once again, the majestic steel sculpture sits atop the same pile of rusted slag — stony waste matter separated from metals by an old cannery formerly along the waterfront, according to a plaque along the trail — pointing a path out into Bellingham Bay.
Just as was the case in her first showing in 2011 and 2012, “Grace” was a surprise to the city of Bellingham.
“It has not gone through a formal permitting procedure,” Mayor Seth Fleetwood said in a statement emailed to The Bellingham Herald. “Grace has brightened people’s mood and I’m happy about that.”
Pictures and social media posts about “Grace” reappearing near Boulevard Park certainly show that, as they began showing up Saturday.
“Happy surprise!” proclaimed one commentor after sharing photos of the artwork Saturday, Feb. 27 on The Seeing Bellingham Group Facebook page.
“It was so good to see her on her ‘rock’ again!’ said another post commentor on the page after posting a photo.
“Really? Really?” City of Bellingham Planning and Community Development Program Shannon Taysi told The Bellingham Herald when she heard about the statue’s return, adding that no permitting paperwork had been filed before the statue re-emerged.
City of Bellingham Parks and Recreation Director Nicole Oliver said she had also seen the photos from over the weekend of “Grace,” adding, “This was a surprise to Parks.”
That unpermitted surprise — along with the graceful beauty many found within her — helped make “Grace” memorable when she first appeared in October 2011.
The fact that she showed up on tidelands the city leases from the Department of Natural Resources without the proper permits created a dilemma. Though the artwork was attractive and successful, according to a letter from members of the Bellingham Arts Commission, the artist — who has guarded their identity — ignored the city’s process for permitting and approving public art.
In a statement Jan. 13, 2012, the mayor’s office allowed for the statue to remain as long as it could stand, but said any future “rogue” art would be removed promptly.
“We’ll enjoy her while she lasts,” city spokeswoman Janice Keller said in a statement at the time, “and we’ll use her presence as an opportunity to remind people of the way to go about displaying art on city property.”
“Grace” silently disappeared about a year after she first arrived, and had since been spotted in the backyard of the artist. Taysi also said she saw “Grace” a few months ago, adding that the artwork wasn’t in good shape at the time.
But now she’s back in the bay — with some slight rusting — and once again without a permit from the city.
What does that mean for her future?
“I hope we can find a way to make her permanent,” Fleetwood said in a statement.
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
