Convergence Art Table

Project Update, November 2022

The Convergence Art Table Project is taking shape at the refuge headquarters! Artist Gary Carpenter formed the tabletops with rebar and cement, then poured the foundation and bases for the four table and stool sets. In September the table tops were installed at their site overlooking the bay. 

Next steps are the final design and formation of the stool tops, each to feature a different wildlife or plant species. Final installation is expected in summer of 2023. An interpretive sign and native vegetation around the tables will also be added to the site. 

Program Information    

This project creates a functional artwork of four originally-designed tables and seats. Gary Carpenter, a Washington State article, is the project’s artist. He also created the dragonfly table at the Refuge Art Trail.

Mr. Carpenter designed the tables using a Borromean Ring formation – three rings that cannot be separated without harm to the whole. The rings celebrate the three refuge environments which converge at Willapa Bay – coastal old growth forests, coastal beaches, and the estuary. Three tables surround a fourth, smaller table. Each ring of the tables and their seats highlights one species from its corresponding environment.

The tables are one-of-a-kind pieces — part art, part science, and part infrastructure. They are made of terrazzo, a beautiful and durable material that incorporates multiple colors to represent the tones of each of the environments and many wildlife species.

School groups and visitors can use the tables to learn about the unique convergence of the three habitats and abundant wildlife of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.

The Friends are raising funds to finish the Convergence Project. Funds are needed to complete the seating and to design and install an interpretative panel to accompany the tables and recognize project donors.

Please join us and make a donation!