Celestial Ancestors PDX 2026

Working as a public art team, Lillian Pitt, Ben Dye, and I were commissioned by RACC to create an impactful sculpture to be installed in the “central ticketing area” in the new PDX terminal. To establish a clear vision, Lillian introduced a concept: a sculpture that would welcome travelers, both inbound and outbound, to Portland. Her inspiration stems from the imaginary characters that visit her as she creates her artworks. Building on this idea, these characters became the focus of the sculpture. To further express Lillian’s vision, we chose a color scheme of Yellow, Orange, Red, Blue, and Green, with each color representing the physical manifestations of her visitors. I utilized glass fabrication techniques such as fusing, slumping, sand carving, beveling, and metal leaf gilding. Ben Dye created the metal armature that connected these characters to create this sculpture. Ultimately, the union of these components and concepts led to the creation of “Celestial Ancestors.”