Kevin Pettelle our Sky Valley Arts Council board Vice President and Sultan resident has a busy year ahead as he continues to bring his creative energy in a variety of forms to Washington communities.

In May Pettelle was awarded a downtown Monroe sculpture commission titled “Wagner Swifts”. The sculpture will be of steel and is planned for installation in November 2016. Read more about the work in this Monroe Monitor story written by Chris Hendrickson

In June, Sky Art Week in Skykomish featured a day of exploration and creation of three-dimensional art forms with Pettelle.  All ages shaped clay, sculpted wax and created outdoor sculptures of found items along Maloney Creek.

September 27th through 29th and October 4th through the 7th Pettelle will complete his 13th year teaching 5th graders art appreciation with a bronze sculpting activity in the grant funded Wenatchee Art on the Avenues Beauty of Bronze program.  This year 650 students will benefit from his teaching. Read more about it here.

He is also working on a City of Puyallup commission  to be located on the new bridge into the City. Pettelle offered that “It is always a challenge to develop a concept that represents a community as all communities are different and unique. Upon research I discovered to my delight that the name Puyallup is derived from the Salish language roughly translated to ‘generous people’. The image that came to mind was a larger than life hand offering a ‘gift’ ”  He continues to work with the city to refine the design.

Pettelle also continues to work on a commission that was awarded a few years back for the City of Anacortes.  The sculpture will be located near the ferry dock as a gateway feature for the City and will stand over 18′ tall.

Kevin Pettelle brings the vitality of art into so many Washington communities …and what a great local story – Kevin is always humble and a curious student of the world around him, …he revels in the output from his 3D printer as it brings his ideas to life  …and he is an active member of our communities and the Sky Valley Arts Council – look for him helping out at the upcoming festivals in the valley and at the Startup Event Center as we start exterior renovation work in August.