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Lee C. Imonen Sculpture 81262 Lost Creek Rd. Dexter, OR 97431 541.937.2238 Imonenl@yahoo.com Art Work at Delta Ponds City of Eugene-Purchasing Office 100 West 10' Avenue Suite 400 Eugene, OR 97401 Dear Art Selection Committee: January, 7th 2010 It is my pleasure to have the opportunity to share with you my concept for a new public sculpture designed specifically as a response to this unique site. Bountiful represents the return of a vital eco system to the natural area of the Delta Ponds and the greater Willamette River watershed. Designed as a response to the wetlands habitat and its history, the sculpture takes the form of a fishing net lifted from the ponds and brimming with its shimmering harvest. Bountiful references metaphorically the tradition of Native American net and weir fishing in the Northwest region, specifically throughout the floodplains and side channels of the Willamette River. The sculpture's extended metaphor expresses the traditional and renewed commitment to the natural and restored environments. Holding the values of stewardship and civic responsibility high above for all to see. The design for Bountiful consists of two opposing sets of steel poles leaning away from each other. The poles are standing firmly at angles slightly askew, as if sticks pushed into the mud of the river flats. The two largest of the poles are tapered and hold in tension between them a stainless steel net swollen with its "catch" of thousands of small reflective stainless steel disks, suspended and sparkling in the sunlight as they move freely in the wind. The net will be suspended as if in the process of being swept up in the air from the waters below. In addition to its cultural and environmental references the structure relates visually to the design of the new pedestrian bridge with its outstretched support structure. Within view of the Bridge's columns and cables, the bridge and sculpture will create a sense of spacial continuity resulting in a sensory call and response as the public walks through and experiences the space. Bountiful is designed to be viewed from a distance without being overpowering. It should serve as an attractive visual composition, drawing pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists to the entrance of the Delta Ponds pathway system. Likewise, the sculpture is intended to create a new backdrop to the path entry presenting to the public an engaging and ever changing view as the breeze passes through its net, causing it's surfaces to shimmer. The effect should function as a kinetic screen, drawing the gaze upward and to the bridge in the distance.