"Petrel Guards the Water" and "Raven Steals the Water"
"Petrel Guards the Water" and "Raven Steals the Water"
Preston Singletary and David Franklin
Steel and glass panels
16’ tall
Location: Opposite each other on the Lake Washington Ship Canal
Site 1: 2nd Ave NW/N Canal Street/Burke Gilman Trail
Site 2: West Ewing Mini Park - 3500 3rd Ave W.
Artist team Preston Singletary and David Franklin have just completed a new public art sculpture. Their artwork tells the traditional native story of Petrel Guards the Water and Raven Steals the Water through two large-scale canoe paddle sculptures constructed of glass and steel that will flank each side of the ship canal waterway in Seattle, WA. Opening Celebration will occur with the opening of the Ship Canal Water Quality Project completion.
This piece was inspired by the Tlingit story of Raven and Petrel:
Raven was traveling and made Petrel’s acquaintance. Petrel lived near a natural water spring which he kept to himself. Petrel did not trust Raven because he’d heard Raven was a conniving fellow. It got to be dusk and Raven told Petrel “I’ll just stay here till the morning and be on my way”.
Petrel would not leave Raven alone at his water source, but eventually fell asleep. When Petrel was sleeping Raven took Dog feces and spread it on Petrel’s buttocks. At daybreak, Raven exclaimed “Hey brother, you’ve defecated on yourself while you were sleeping”! Petrel was embarrassed and left to clean himself off. When Petrel was away, Raven swallowed up that entire water source.
Raven was engorged with water and flew off. He was having a hard time keeping all the water in and it dribbled out of his beak. The water flowed down to the earth and became the rivers and the streams. This is the origin of the rivers, streams and waterways.
About the Artists
Preston Singletary grew up and lives in Seattle. The paddles are a part of an expansive infrastructure project to care for our waterways and all the creatures that depend on clean water.
David Franklin lives in Indianola, Washington near the shores of Port Madison which will also benefit from this project that will lessen the untreated discharges into the waters all of us share.
About the Commission
Community identity and history can be celebrated and elaborated through public art practice. Through this lens the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities has worked on this commission which was installed in April 2025.
