Saturday, April 27, 2024
Sculpturist Tsovinar Muradyan has created many important works, including a temporary installation at ArtWorks in Edmonds in 2022 and a permanent one at Esperance Park.
You can also see two other permanent sculptures in downtown Edmonds atop flower poles, one in front of Waterfront Coffee on Main Street and the other between Salt & Iron and SanKai restaurants on Fourth Avenue North.
But her latest project is one that tops them all: a memorial for the 43 lives lost in the March 22, 2014, landslide just east of the small town of Oso on State Route 530 (Oso Slide Memorial Highway).
Muradyan will debut her creation Friday, March 22, on the 10th anniversary of the landslide, one of the worst disasters in Snohomish County history. The 10 a.m. debut of the Slide Memorial Project, with the landslide’s deep scar still plainly visible in the near distance, is open to the public.
Muradyan’s work follows temporary and permanent installations in place during the past decade. She constructed 26 panels after answering a call for public art.
“The story behind this art call resonated with me profoundly,” said Muradyan, a Mill Creek resident.
“It struck me how crucial and life-changing this memorial park could be for family members, and how sincerely they wanted to share stories about loved ones they have lost in this tragedy. I know how it feels to lose someone you love and care about.”
The Oso Slide Memorial Committee worked with Snohomish County Parks and Recreation to build the permanent memorial, which honors those who died, as well as survivors, responders, and surrounding communities.
The families, survivors, and responders participated in a multiyear process with Parks staff to generate ideas and settle on a consensus about the memorial. The County’s 2022 budget included $4.8 million for funding of the Slide Memorial Project.
On Saturday, March 22, 2014, a massive chunk of the rain-soaked hillside broke loose without warning. It left 43 dead, rerouted State Route 530 and the north fork of the Stillaguamish River, and destroyed 49 homes, most in the Steelhead Haven community. It was the deadliest landslide in U.S. history.
The victims ranged in age from 4-month-old Sanoah Huestis, killed along with her grandmother, Christina Jefferds, to 91-year-old Bonnie Gullikson, whose husband of 55 years, Larry Gullickson, was rescued.
Among those killed were Steve Harris, 52, and Theresa Harris, 53, who lived in an Edmonds condo during the week and spent weekends at their cabin near a bend in the Stillaguamish. Their memorial service was held at Holy Rosary Church on Seventh Avenue South.
Rescuers descended on the site immediately, picking through mud and debris for survivors.
Former Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson was serving as executive director of public safety for Snohomish County at the time. It fell to him to lead the long-term recovery team as the County liaison.
“I got a call from Snohomish County Public Works on a very rainy Saturday morning about a mudslide on State Route 530,” he said this week. “My first thought was, ‘Why was staff notifying me about a slide on a state highway?’”
That question was quickly answered.
Beginning on Tuesday after the slide, Haakenson was on site every day to represent the County’s executive office and fill in as public information officer when necessary. As the mission began to turn from rescue to recovery, he was put in charge of recovery operations. That meant meeting with families, finding food and shelter for survivors, and helping them to understand what happens next.
He also helped set up a building that housed all the personal items found in the debris and scheduled times for families to privately claim their items if they wanted to.
“The hardest part of those months,” said Haakenson, “was meeting with those who lost loved ones.”
He has photos he took during his assignment that he often looks at.
“It’s been 10 years but the images still remain fresh for me. A mangled bicycle, cars destroyed and covered in mud, a basketball, and a Girl Scout uniform. I was asked often during those days if I needed to speak to a counselor. I declined; I was just doing my job.”
As the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office continued its relentless search for the last missing person of the landslide, Haakenson was speaking to a Rotary Club about Oso.
“I never had my phone on me when I was speaking, but this day we were nearing the end of the search so I kept my phone close by. As I was speaking to the Rotarians, I got a call and had to excuse myself.”
It was Sheriff Ty Trenary, and he spoke three words: “We found her.” That would be 44-year-old Molly Kristine “Kris” Regelbrugge, whose remains were found four months after the slide.
The remains of her husband, John Regelbrugge, were discovered earlier, about 100 yards away.
“I shared that with the audience, and I cried,” Haakenson said. “Maybe I needed that counseling after all. Recovering all 43 missing family members meant the world to the survivors and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and all other searchers should be proud of their work.”
Not long after the landslide, Haakenson retired from the County. He won’t be attending the memorial.
But he has this thought: “I wish for peace for all the families who lost their loved ones.”
“I truly believed that I could create personalized panels,” said Tsovinar Muradyan, “which would express and highlight the uniqueness of each of the victims and bring up bright memories and remembrance.”
Muradyan, who moved to the U.S. more than six years ago from the former Soviet republic of Armenia, has a master's degree in architecture and a doctorate in sustainable architecture. She and her husband own Melting Rock LLC.
She said she envisioned the park as a space where family members and all visitors could encounter peace and harmony amid its surroundings. She dedicated herself to creating an inspiring environment enriched with distinctive artworks.
“Following numerous discussions and meetings with committee and family members, we concluded that families should share inspirations and motives tied to their loved ones. This would enable me to integrate these unique aspects into the design, thereby personalizing it.
“Consequently, the heartfelt stories were transformed into works of art, highlighting the uniqueness of each victim. Each individual panel experiences its own time of glory.”
Muradyan – who will be at the dedication – said there were technical challenges in incorporating epoxy into the bent corten steel. She polished the epoxy so it could keep light inside.
“That is why, as viewers walk in and around the panels, these sculptures create surprising experiences of elements, colors, and shapes, which opens endlessly changing emotional scenes.”
The centerpiece of Muradyan’s installation in the gathering plaza is the 19-foot Beacon Memorial. It’s a monumental work of art with its simplicity and deeply spiritual philosophical symbols.
The monument itself has distinct architectural lines that give dramatic looks from different perspectives, surrounded by mountain views.
Much like Muradyan’s sculpture at Esperance Park, the Beacon is placed so light is directed to the memorial stone. The bronze inlay resembles a four-pointed star on the ground and embraces the monument with spiritual guidance and meaning, Muradyan said
“The monument comes alive when people stand on the missing part, making it complete with their presence, memories, and prayers. Looking up, you can see 43 butterflies soaring upwards, representing the 43 victims of the slide. The butterflies symbolize rebirth and resurrection of the souls.”
The Responders sculpture, meanwhile, is meant to be a poignant tribute to first responders. It features a large rock mimicking a landslide that tragically struck a community. The central focus of the composition is the Memorial Coin carefully placed on the polished surface surrounded by the coins of First Responders, forming a symbolic representation of unity and tribute within the sculpture.
“This memorial park should be a place of honor the lives unexpectedly lost and give hope to those left behind,” said Muradyan. “The park should serve as a sanctuary for healing for the family members, who carry on with this pain in their hearts. Those we love never truly leave us. We must hold onto that light in our hearts and move forward.
“I genuinely hope that the memorial park can be that spiritual place radiating light and hope.”
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