On June 26th, we loaded a 175-pound weeping Statue of Liberty into a cargo van and drove her two hours north to her new home.
Liberty Wept, my 6’3″ reclaimed metal sculpture, has been accepted into the Percival Plinth Project in Olympia, WA, a juried public art installation where sculptures are displayed for one year on the city’s waterfront boardwalk. At the end of the year, the public votes on which piece earns permanent placement, with the city paying up to $10,000 for the winning work. She’ll be standing there, in all weather, for the next twelve months — watched by strangers, rained on, admired, argued over, and hopefully loved.
The Send-Off
Before we could get her to Olympia, we had to get her out of Portland. That’s where the Past Lives Makerspace community showed up in the best possible way.
A group of community members gathered at Past Lives on the morning of the 26th to help load her into the cargo van and bid her farewell. It was one of those moments I didn’t know I needed until it was happening. People who have watched this practice grow from the beginning, helping send Miss Liberty out into the world. There was something genuinely moving about it. Liberty Wept was built in community, and she left in community.
(YouTube Short)
The Drive
Brian and I made the two-hour drive north together with Liberty Wept in the back, strapped in and contemplating what awaited her.
I was so nervous. She’s the largest, most complex piece I’ve ever made. She’s made from reclaimed industrial steel, the remnants of things that once had other purposes. She weighs around 175 pounds, and she doesn’t travel lightly in any sense of the word.
The Installation
We unloaded and placed her on her plinth ourselves, with the help of equipment kindly loaned to us by Past Lives. On Olympia’s Percival Landing Boardwalk, Brian and I managed to get her off the van and onto the plinth. I will not pretend it was graceful, but it was indeed triumphant!
She looks amazing.
There is something about seeing a sculpture in natural light, outdoors, in a real public space, that no studio photo can prepare you for. The boardwalk, the sky, the water, the Capitol building in the background… She belongs there. A weeping Liberty, forged from scrap, standing on a public plinth in the capital city of Washington State. I made her just four months into my welding journey (I started welding at 55 years old, in June 2025). She took me nearly 100 hours of work. (YouTube Short)
I still can’t quite believe any of this is real.
What Happens Next
Liberty Wept will be on the Percival Plinth through June 2027. The public vote happens next month, July 2026. If she receives the most votes, she stays permanently! Although she will unlikely win, she will cause people to stop on that boardwalk, look at her, and feel something. Perhaps spark a debate. She will inspire them to at least think about her meaning and what’s happening to our democracy and civil liberties right now in the USA.
If you’re in Olympia, go find her, take a picture, and tag her #LibertyWept on Instagram or your preferred social media site.
And if you want to help her find a permanent home, remember her name when the vote opens.
📍 Percival Plinth Project, Olympia WA — on the waterfront boardwalk 📸 Follow me on Instagram for more metal art :: @christine.rose.artist
Christine Rose 
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