Two new sculptures coming to Clyde Alley in Langley

By Evan Thompson • June 9, 2017 1:00 pm
Evan Thompson / The Record — Frank Rose, chairman of the Langley Arts Commission, holds a picture of what Clyde Alley looked like before it received an artistic facelift. More art is on the way for the connecting alley between Second Street and Third Street.
Evan Thompson / The Record — Frank Rose, chairman of the Langley Arts Commission, holds a picture of what Clyde Alley looked like before it received an artistic facelift. More art is on the way for the connecting alley between Second Street and Third Street.

Clyde Alley was once barren of art.

Today, it’s shaping up be Langley’s next artistic hot spot.

Two new outdoor sculptures are coming to Clyde Alley this summer. The Langley Arts Commission is currently accepting design ideas for the sculptures as part of an outdoor sculpture competition which began on May 15. The two works will be selected and displayed on pedestals for 18 months, from August to September 2019. The artists will receive $500 stipends to cover their competition costs. Sales of the artwork will be encouraged during the exhibition. The city would receive 20 percent of the sale.

The deadline is June 23.

Frank Rose, chairman of the arts commission, said the sculptures will add to a growing presence of art along the alley, which links Second and Third Street. The arts commission is revitalizing the area into a pedestrian corridor ringed with art.

“We want to make this a pleasure for the city residents to stroll through and to make it a notable place that people from off the island will come to visit because of its art or serenity,” Rose said.

“Clyde Alley is going to be much colorful and visit-able,” he added.

The most visible art in the area is the Clyde Alley Archway, which was designed by artists Milo White and Lin McJunkin. It was installed in 2016. The rainbow colored archway is made of three separate steel pieces, including a complete arch and two others that reach upward as if coming out of the ground. It is located at the end of the alley near Third Street.

Callahan McVay, owner of Callahan’s Firehouse Studio, has also contributed his talent to the artistic effort for Clyde Alley. The arts commission council member donated more than a dozen pieces of blown glass that line one side of the alley. McVay also took it upon himself to clean up the garden beds nearby, which will later contain several sun flowers that are expected to beautify the area even more, McVay said.

“It just makes it a happier walk,” McVay said. “…It has amazing potential back there.”

An artistic enclosure of a propane tank located just a few feet away from the alley pavement is also in the works, Rose said.

City Planner Brigid Reynolds expects the sculptures will be a “great” addition to public art for the city. They will be located on either side of the alley.

“It will also provide more visibility of that alleyway,” Reynolds said.

It is unclear what the works will look like, as the designs are up to the artists themselves. The commission outlined a few requirements, such as making pieces in mediums of metal, stone and glass — materials suitable for being outside. It must also be structurally stable, maintenance free and considered safe for audiences of all ages.

The criteria governing the selection of the sculptures includes artistic quality and originality, the appropriateness of the concept, feasibility, design and construction, community support and public safety. Preference will also be given to Whidbey Island artists.

An ad hoc selection panel named by the arts commission will select the two works for final review. The arts commission will submit recommendations to the Langley City Council, which has the final selection authority, on July 13. The council is expected to vote on the artwork at a council meeting on July 17.

Submissions may be delivered to city hall at 112 Second Street in Langley, emailed to planning@langleywa.org, or mailed to PO Box 366 Langley, Wa 98260.