Artist Susanna Bluhm created these postcards as she observed Longfellow Creek on a winter walk in her neighborhood. See more of her work here.
1.    Snowy Bank with Blue Sled, 2019, gouache on paper, 6.5 x 5 inches
2.    Snowy Creek with Red Plastic Ribbon, 2019, gouache on paper, 5 x 6.5 inches
3.    Snowy Creek with Golf Balls, 2019, gouache on paper, 5 x 6.5 inches
4.    Snowy Pond with Blue Sled, 2019, gouache on paper, 5 x 6.5 inches

Artist John Feodorov created these postcards from Longfellow Creek, reflecting on the ways in which humans have altered and hidden the creek. You can see more of his work here.

 Meet Your Creek  invites professional artists from the community to design unique Postcards from the Creek relating to the Longfellow Creek watershed. Our first featured artist is Akira Ohiso. Learn more about the artist at www.ohiso.com

Akira Ohiso's postcards bring attention to the history of the river as a fertile fishery for the Duwamish Native tribe. The shallow banks of Longfellow Creek once supported smelt, but they slowly disappeared with the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent proliferation of chemicals and toxic waste.  The smelt are depicted swimming upstream  through steel pipes, which highlight recent environmental efforts to protect the Longfellow Creek and its habitat from future contamination.  There is an irony in steel pipes as it was the steel industry that contributed to the contamination of the creek in the first place. The hope is that one day smelt will forge their way back to the Longfellow creek.

Last year Akira's work was featured in a public art project in Delridge called “Smelting” that was funded by the Office of Arts & Culture.  Here is the description of the project:
Akira Ohiso's art installation brings attention to the history of the river as a fertile fishery for the Duwamish Native tribe. The shallow banks of Longfellow Creek once supported smelt, but they slowly disappeared with the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent proliferation of chemicals and toxic waste. Ohiso created drawings of native smelt - in red, yellow, black, and blue - that were then digitally printed onto white windsocks to create fish kites. In the artist's Japanese culture, fish kites (Koinobori) are flown on poles to celebrate an annual national Children's Day - symbolizing hope for a healthy and prosperous future for children. This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the Japanese-American internment camps, adding poignancy to the installation.

The water is flowing, the birds are singing, time to visit the Creek! Nearby you can stop by the Delridge Library and see a rotating display of "postcards from the creek" created by local artists and community members.
Also, on April 22 stop by LibraryLab for kid-friendly Creek and art activities!
The exhibit will be on display through the end of April.

Here is a sampling of some of the postcards from the creek created by community members at the Arts in Nature Festival at Camp Long, sponsored by Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. https://dnda.org/

Meet Your Creek will be offering Postcards from the Creek art activities and walks at the Arts in Nature Festival!
Delridge Neighborood Development Association presents the 19th annual Arts in Nature Festival at Camp Long in West Seattle AUGUST 25-26. The festival celebrates art, nature & neighborhood with diverse programming from music, visual art, poetry, puppetry, food trucks, merchants and more. Come to Camp Long and Meet Your Creek!

Second grade students carefully observed plants growing along Longfellow Creek.

Many community members painted and mailed postcards inspired by Longfellow Creek and our neighborhood pollinators at the West Seattle Bee Festival.

Come make  a "Postcard from the Creek" at the West Seattle Bee Festival! Saturday, May 19 from 11 am- 2pm at High Point Commons Park, postcard-making will be offered in the area of the vendor fair. www.westseattlebeegarden.com/bee-fest-2018.html