Do you ever wonder about the story behind the art you see? I’ve been following along as a new mural at Grand Ridge Plaza was created. I was so curious to meet Tori Shao, the artist who was commissioned to paint the stairway behind Dick’s Sporting Goods and learn the story behind her new art piece. And I’ve heard the stairway this mural is painted on is a popular one in the Issaquah Highlands too. (If you are in the Issaquah area on September 12 there will be a ribbon cutting at the mural too from 4-6pm to celebrate)
When I looked her up on Instagram, I realized that I already knew Tori Shao’s art. She had three murals in Ballard when everything was locked down and I remember how much joy that art brought during a really difficult time. I really appreciated seeing these murals as we drove past boarded up buildings and even in my memories, the feeling of the art helps the despair of that era feel less painful. We didn’t lose everything if we still had art.
Tori Shao’s new art piece in Issaquah is a pretty incredible piece too. It spans 137 steps between Grand Ridge Plaza and the Issaquah Highlands up a pretty steep hill. (When I first posted about these stairs on instagram, someone thought they might be a good way to practice for Base 2 Space at the Space Needle) I talked to Tori a couple of times while she was working and it sounds like she first had to design the mural, sketch the outline on the stairs, fill it in, add intricate details and then add an anti-grafitti coat at the end. Creating a mural on stairs instead of on a flat wall also looked really challenging to me. Murals have become so popular everywhere, I was really thankful for the time Tori spent explaining to me how they are created. I’m looking forward to seeing this mural close up now that it’s complete.
The design of her new mural at Grand Ridge Plaza incorporates Pacific Trillium, a plant that is native to the area, and one that you see often while hiking local hikes in early spring. Issaquah has so many of our favorite local hikes (I had no idea that there are 200 miles of trails in Issaquah until I started learning about this mural.) And this mural also incorporates the colors of salmon because the area is vital to salmon too. As part of the ribbon cutting on September 12 to unveil the mural, Grand Ridge Plaza will be presenting a donation to the Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. (According to its website this hatchery is the most visited Salmon Hatchery in Washington State!).
I’m looking forward to the ribbon cutting ceremony and I’ll add details here after the ceremony if I learn more about this new mural too. And maybe you’ll end up at the ribbon cutting ceremony too?
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)