Arts & Entertainment

Deer Art Sprouts Up in Lid Park

A public art installation of topiaries, purchased by the Mercer Island Arts Council, makes its appearance in Lid Park.

Some residents see the Mercer Island's deer population as part of the Island's natural allure, while others view them as pests who raid local gardens or hazards on local roads. But now they're immortalized — so long as they stay trimmed to the proper shape.

City Parks staff installed a public art installation over the weekend of three topiaries in the form of deer at Lid Park. The three green "deer" stand on a rise to the northwest of the intersection of SE 24th Street and 76th Ave. Southeast, near Freshy’s Seafood Market and Island Corporate Center.

The living topiary art consists of two “Moonglow Juniper” trees each in the
shape of deer with a net form defining their shape. They are each approximately six feet tall and weigh 500 pounds.

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The art was selected earlier this spring by the Mercer Island Arts Council and approved for purchase by city council on Sept. 4 to the tune of $4,500.

During that meeting, Mayor Bruce Bassett and City Councilwoman Jan Mayer Brahm, the Arts Council liason, were strongly supportive of the city's 1% for Arts fund, from which the project was funded.

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"We've decided that art matters," Bassett said, before approving the project.

The topiaries will need pruning once- or twice-a-year at an annual cost of $750-$1,250.


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