Artwork copyright Paul Buckner. Photo courtesy of the artist, 1977.

Siren, 1967

Paul Buckner
(American, born 1933, died 2014)

Location: Olympic College, Bremerton

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Siren by artist Paul Buckner is one of many mermaids he carved over his long career. After working out the design in terra-cotta clay, he carved the mermaid in soap stone with hand tools. In his own words, “The imaginative qualities of the sea have always been a big part of me.”

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Olympic College - Bremerton.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Paul Buckner (1933-2014) is remembered for his work in stone, metal, and wood. He said this about his work, “I have trained my whole life to be able to reach back to the forgotten things we are born knowing. Whether I will, in any measure, ever succeed, I don’t know. I do know that in making things I take great joy.”
Buckner was born and raised in the Ballard and West Seattle neighborhoods of Seattle. He was an influential and well-loved professor at the University of Oregon in Eugene from 1962 to 1995. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington, Seattle, in 1959. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Claremont Graduate School in California in 1961. He also served in the U.S. Coast Guard during the Korean War (1950-53).