Well, we are nearing the time when our baby whale moves on. Lucky for us, The Mayor of Bremerton, Patty Lent feels the same about the Whale as we do and has offered to host a display in the Norm Dicks Center, our city’s government building. The students will get the chance to oversee the transition of their project from one venue to another. They will get to work with the City in a way that is rarely available for students. What a great way to continue the learning process!
Mayor Lent presented each of our students with a B-Pin, a symbol of their new status as Ambassadors of Bremerton. What a great choice, too! These students care so much about the content of this exhibit and they deserve to see it continue educating and informing others about the human foot print on our marine environment. While the Whale offers the audience a beautiful object to contemplate, it is the total installation that brings home the reason for the exhibit. The audio element really contributes to our ability to use the artwork to communicate awareness. Seeing the dirty, but familiar objects that washed ashore give reason to pause and consider our own actions. The drawings show the public how any idea CAN manifest into reality and be shared.
We hope to display the whale, artifacts from the “process of making,” CAD drawings of the design, and maybe…. just maybe, we can find a way to incorporate the trash without infringing on the generosity and hospitality of the Norm Dicks Center. Possibly bag or net the marine debris elements and suspend them with the whale? Either way, we will certainly have educational posters and displays showing lists of debris categories that commonly show up on our shorelines. We will have images of coastlines and geography maps. It will be different than what is experienced at the Gallery at OC, but no less spectacular!
GO BABY WHALE!
The Gallery at OC 
I don’t really have words to say that would truly extend my gratitude to our wonderful professor Marie Weichman. The Whale Project and our Baby Whale have become a milestone in my life. From the looks of it we will continue this learning experience far beyond the classroom and quarter, and experience aspects of exhibiting and creativity that can only be learned by doing. I am so excited about it! Once in a lifetime something comes along that tugs at your heart and your creative energy and you are helpless to resist, but when you open the door to the opportunity, it changes your life and your experience of art in the most wonderful ways. I know The Whale Project has and will always be this for me.
Mayor Patty Lent honored us and our Project with her visit and it was indeed a pleasure to meet her and talk with her. Thank you, Mayor Lent, for your support and interest in our project.
I treasure sharing this experience with all the amazing students and inspiring faculty members from all the departments who were involved, but most especially with my fellow art students, Max, Charlie, Justine, Jen and our professor Marie.
I truly can’t wait to see what the future brings!
Go, Baby Whale, Go!!
Thank you Theresa! What a wonderful description of your experience. You students OWNED this project! And by that I mean, you took possession of your own opportunity to learn and share. Thanks for being part of my educational experiment. What a great outcome for all of us. Onward and upward with our message and the process of inspired learning!