by Alec Clayton
The City of Olympia sent out a call for art in Grass Lake Park, and metal sculptor Abe Singer answered the call and created the challenging art project that was called for: to repurpose an ancient water tank on the property into works of art. According to Singer’s website at https://www.abesironart.com/recomposing, “The repurposing of the water tank, which existed on the property, tells the story of a fallen log, broken down by the little decomposers who feed its nutrients to the next generation, and the parallel story of the restoration of the park itself.”
The water tank was in existence on the park property before the recent park renovation. It was to be removed as part of the renovation. Instead of sending the tank to a scrapyard, the city thought it would be cool if someone could repurpose it for art. That’s how the Grass Lake Nature Park call for art originated. The main criteria of the art project was to utilize the tank to create two entryway sculptures and a bird blind (a shelter or camouflaged area used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters). The city said they would deliver the tank to the selected artist if the destination was within 60 miles of the park. Singer lives on a farm in rural Montesano, so when he was selected for this project, the city delivered the tank to his shop on the farm property where it now keeps company with his turkeys. He utilized pieces of the massive tank — the size of a boxcar — to create the two mushroom entryway sculptures as well as the bird blind sculpture on the bridge.
The tank was a landmark and an iconic part of the identity of the park. Singer says, “The outside was a canvas for local graffiti artists. The interior, perhaps serving as a clubhouse of sorts, was completely covered with magnetic glow in the dark stars. Spooky eyes were painted inside with a reflective glow in the dark paint, and there was a secret sealed canister containing a sign in scroll for visitors. I even heard a musician used it as an echo chamber. Part of me felt bad for taking it away, but access had been blocked off shortly before the park renovation began anyway because someone had gotten stuck inside and needed a rescue crew to get out. Even though the original tank is gone, I tried to preserve its essence. There are still a few of the glow in the dark stars on the underside of the mushroom caps. (And forever turning up in random places in my shop!) I left the existing graffiti on the top sides of the mushroom caps. The existing curves and bends of the tank were repurposed, reimagined, and reconfigured into something new.”
The design was inspired by the flora and fauna observed from Singer’s visits to the park and tied into one of his themes of elevating elements of nature that are often overlooked.
The repurposing of the water tank resulted in three sculptures that may be viewed by walking the paved trail in the park.
“I believe it was my wife, Stephanie, who first found the opportunity for the Grass Lake Nature Park project through callforentry.org,” Singer said. “Fellow artist, Jennifer Kuhns, also sent me a copy of it. It was kind of just perfect for me.”
Before making public art, Singer was a plumber and welding fabricator. He says, “There is a theme of incorporating the curvature of metal cylinders (tanks, pipes, etc.) into my art, so “my oddly specific niche skillset aligned really well with the oddly specific requirements for this call.”
Photo courtesy of Abe Singer.
One of the elements of this call was a brainstorming session with the Citizen Science Institute students at Thurgood Marshall Middle School, who had been rehabilitating the park by planting trees and removing invasive growth and litter, as well as advocating for improvements to fish passageways. The concept of the tank being a nurse log emerged from that meeting, a symbol of renewal and regeneration parallel to the salvaging and repurposing of the old water tank, and parallel to the restoration of the park itself. Singer says, “Recomposing pays homage to the decomposers, those little life forms that break down the nurse log, and feed it to the next generation.”
Stephanie Johnson from the Olympia Arts Commission said, “What has most impressed me about Abe and this project is how he has put in the work — as early as his application. Before Grass Lake, Abe had applied for several public art projects that he was not selected for, but each time he applied his applications got stronger.”
Johnson said, “The Grass Lake public art project was built around repurposing the old water tank, and that dovetailed well with Abe’s interest and experience in working with repurposed metal. Going in to the project, we had no idea what could be done with the tank. Abe’s vision and implementation of the project became an elegant homage to the presence of the tank in the park and the inherent beauty possible in its materials.”
Kuhns, a well known Olympia artist who encouraged Singer to apply for the project, says, “Abe is a gem. When I first met Abe many years ago, he was the plumber we hired to install a shower in my house. When he learned about my artwork, he shared that he was actively shifting from his plumbing business to becoming a full-time metal artist. I’ll be honest; I silently wondered if this was a good idea. I knew the challenges of monetizing your creativity and I was envious of his marketable plumbing skills. A couple of years later, we were under consideration for the same public art project and I saw examples of his artwork for the first time. It was clear he had made the right decision.”
Kuhns says Singer is “The Real Deal, a good guy living his values with integrity. His large-scale sculptures embody the beauty of the natural world, inviting viewers to pay attention and appreciate their surroundings.”
Grass Lakes Park is a new addition to Olympia’s system of nature parks. Purchased by the city in 1989, the park with its trails and parking lots was not completed until the summer of 2025. There is a mile-long paved trail, a 365-foot boardwalk with a viewpoint and Singer’s art at the halfway point, and a dirt trail that is almost a mile and a half long leading back to a parking lot.
WHAT:
Abe Singer’s art from an old water tank
WHEN:
Open daily 7 a.m. or dawn (whichever occurs earliest) to 6 p.m. or dusk (whichever occurs latest)
WHERE:
700 Kaiser Road NW, Olympia
LEARN MORE:
https://www.olympiawa.gov/services/parks___recreation/parks___trails/grass_lake_nature_park.php
https://www.abesironart.com
https://www.abesironart.com/bio