Petroglyph Tunnel Progresses!

The other day Suzanne Bachelder (from the City of Washougal) and I went over to Vancouver Granite Works to take a look at the large basalt rock that will stand at the entry to the Washougal Pedestrian Tunnel.

This large chunk of columnar basalt will be a commemorative stone that recognizes the Indian people of the Columbia Plateau and those who contributed to the rock art portion of the project. The boulder, standing at the northern entrance to the tunnel (see drawing for one possibility), will mark the beginning of the transition from the city to the river.


The rock is not quite complete in the photos that follow. Suzanne collected tracings of actual handprints from all the high school interns who worked on the project. When complete those real handprints will be carved into the stone. When we saw it the handprints had not yet been carved, but the concept photo (at right) will give you the idea.

Check it out!
















...and here are the interns and coordinators who are helping make the concept into a reality!

Creativity Unleashed!

The Washougal pedestrian tunnel itself is completely engineered and construction is well underway...but what about the Columbia Plateau rock-art-inspired panels that are a major part of its creative design?

Well, I'm here to tell you that the creative energy of the Petroglyph Team's student interns was released BIG-TIME at our most recent meeting.

Each of the Washougal High students on the Team had been chartered by artist Rex Ziak with creating a personal vision of the rock art that would fill the tunnel.

Students Emily Carroll, Kirstin Peterson, Patrick McCarthy, Sarah Walker, Chloe Kilgore, Brian Price, Paige Wade, Chris Norton, and Heather Mattole each prepared a detailed creative plan for the 7 basalt slabs that will line one wall of the tunnel.

I'm not sure what I expected when the assignment was given out...but whatever it was, reality significantly exceeded any expectations I might have dreamed about! You would think that in a group of 9 busy high school students there would be a few creative duds...you would be wrong!

Designs (above and below) laid out for review...

These kids, none trained in art as far as I know, each came up with an innovative, creative artistic plan for the tunnel. Honestly I think all the adults in the room, including Rex, were amazed. The deep thought and artistic concepts were inspiring.




Emily Carroll, Brian Price, and Kirsten Walker (above) present their designs.

Patrick McCarthy commands the attention of the audience, including artist Rex Ziak (center left), as he presents his vision for the tunnel's rock art.




Paige Wade, Chris Norton, and Chloe Kilgore explain their designs.

Heather Mattole (left and center below) captures the imaginations of Team members Patrick McCarthy, Paige Wade, Chloe Kilgore, Rix Ziak and Robert David (left to right).







Now the focal point of the artistic process moves to Rex Ziak. He will consider the ideas of the students along with his own creative thoughts and begin to finalize the images that will make this tunnel anything but pedestrian.

Stay tuned...


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"Passage to the Columbia"

...those words capture the City of Washougal's vision for the new pedestrian tunnel that will re-link the core of the city to its waterfront on the Columbia River for the first time in over 40 years.

At the same time the tunnel (location outlined in yellow below) will honor the Indian tribes of the region with a display of important rock art images from across the Columbia Plateau.

When complete the tunnel will burrow under the buzzing traffic on Washington's Highway 14 and open into popular Steamboat Park, whose southern edge extends into the river with a series of popular docks used for fishing and boating.

Walkers who explore the length of the tunnel will find a series of 7 massive native basalt slabs (each weighing approximately 2,800 pounds) engraved with representations of symbols found in Plateau petroglyphs and pictographs.

The City has assembled a group, known as "the Petroglyph Team" to research and identify the images that will eventually grace the tunnel. Lead by artist Rex Ziak (at left with basalt slab) and City manager Nabiel Shawa the team includes students from Washougal High, Councilwoman Molly Coston, Parks Manager Suzanne Bachelder, parent Margaret McCarthy, rock art scholar and Klamath tribal member Robert David, myself and other volunteers.

On Friday, August 14, 2009 the Team visited the stone yard where the basalt slabs are being prepared . We saw a huge rock saw cutting one of our slabs from an enormous crystal of basalt and watched a skilled rock carver demonstrate how the images will be engraved into the surface of the stone.












The Team has looked at hundreds of images and has narrowed the choices down to about 75 finalists, a few of which are included here.

Construction of the tunnel is well underway although the actual slice through Hwy 14 has not yet occurred. Its pretty amazing how much prep work it takes to create something that seems so simple...smoothing the landscape, running utility lines under the street, preparing the surface outside the tunnel for human traffic, and more...all needing to be completed with a minimum of disruption to the traffic streaming by on the highway.




Stay tuned and watch the evolution of the tunnel and its Native American-inspired art...

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