The Village by the Sea’s first city-financed public art installations will feature works inspired by sea and sky.

The Langley City Council approved the Langley Arts Commission’s recommendation Monday to display “Ocean Waves” and “Sun Catcher” in the plaza on Second Street for a year. Now the arts commission is preparing for an unveiling party at 5 p.m. on Halloween, Friday, Oct. 31.

Only three sculptures were submitted to the arts commission for consideration. Frank Rose, chairman of the commission and himself an artist, said he was disappointed in the small turnout but thrilled with the quality. He cited the quick turnaround from the formation of the commission to the September deadline for entries and target date of Nov. 1 for installation as reasons for the small number of submissions.

“Next time around, we’re going to really get the word out,” Rose said.

Both selected works are towering sights. “Ocean Waves,” by Langley artist Sue Taves, stands nearly 7 feet high and is made of Eastern Washington basalt. The finished cuts undulate like the waves just offshore from Langley in Saratoga Passage.

“Sue’s work is a beautiful sculpture,” said Frank Rose, chairman of the arts commission and an artist. “Nice stone, nice work, and very pleasant to look at.”

Lloyd Whannell’s “Sun Catcher” embodies its celestial namesake with a massive steel ring bringing form to its basalt central piece that looks like an inverted keyhole with dotted marks on its polished black surface to look like solar flares licking out into the darkness of space.

“Lloyd’s is a thing you have to look at and everyone will appreciate in their own way,” Rose said.

Each artist receives a $600 stipend for displaying the work in Langley, which is covered from the Second Street redesign budget. Langley city leaders agreed to adopt a 2-percent-for-the-arts policy with its capital projects as a way of getting the city into an already existing culture of putting work on display around town.

It’s an idea that, with the first two sculptures’ installation coming in a couple of weeks, has strong support from the Langley Main Street Association and businesses.

“I think it’s really a benefit, especially for the artists,” said Janet Ploof, president of the Langley Main Street Association. “Artists who do big things have a harder time displaying [works].”

“It’s another thing that unifies the town,” she added. “You can walk around town going from art piece to art piece.”

Other projects are in the works for the Langley Arts Commission. The group discussed at its Oct. 9 meeting finding a way to add more sculptures to the Langley Village area just off Second Street, but ran into insurance and easement issues, Rose said.

Having been formed only earlier this year, the arts commission is defining its five-year plan. One of the top items is identifying other sites around the city for public art, for which Rose said the top location is Seawall Park. The group is also working on an inventory of currently existing public art and sculptures in Langley.

“Ocean Waves” and “Sun Catcher” will be prominently displayed in the plaza on Second Street between Callahan’s Firehouse and the South Whidbey Commons.