Chances Are You've Been Touched By This Woman's Work

If you’ve ever strolled through downtown Kirkland, visited Evergreen Hospital or even driven past the city on I-405, chances are you’ve been touched by Kathy Feek’s work. The Kirkland resident has spent the past dozen years making our community more beautiful. 

The Kirkland Chamber of Commerce recently presented Feek with the Anne J. Owen Community Service Award to honor all of her artful contributions to Kirkland. 

The award is given to a chamber member who has performed special community service over an extended period of time. 

“Kathy gets that art is not about decorating the community, art is community. Community is about connection, and art is a powerful way that connection is made,” said Ben Lindekugel, former president of the Chamber.

“I felt first incredibly surprised and then very humble,” Feek said of the honor. “I give so much time to Kirkland, and to making arts and art events a priority. I do it out of sheer love, but to have someone notice is very powerful.” 

Feek moved to Kirkland from Seattle 12 years ago, immediately jumping into community service. She helped develop the Kirkland Cultural Council, becoming the organization’s first chair. Feek also played a crucial part in saving some important pieces of art in downtown Kirkland. 

“She was actively involved in the Save the Animals Campaign that raised $250,000 to save three very important sculptures in town,” said Lindekugel.

The three works were the Deer (at the Carillon Point entrance), the Bears (corner of Central and State) and the Bunnies (corner of Lake and Central). The city needed funding to secure the sculptures, which had been on loan. Feek was instrumental in making it happen. 

Her “fingerprints” can also be found on the freeway. Feek consulted on the I-405 project, “significantly improving the feel of what is finally a large amount of concrete,” says Lindekugel.

 The art is on the sound walls at Totem Lake, visible when you drive north on I-405. 

Her work with the Kirkland Cultural Council led to a role at Evergreen Hospital that has become one of Feek’s most satisfying projects.

“I have to credit my Kirkland Cultural Council friends,” she said. “When we heard the hospital was expanding, they suggested that I apply to provide art.”

Feek created a proposal and soon was acting as art consultant for the hospital.

When challenged to find a way to incorporate art into the hospital without much of a budget, Feek was undaunted. “Thus, idea of rotating galleries was born," she said.   

Eight years later, “Evergreen is still a community hospital, very cautious with community funds, but able to make a lot of things happen by inviting in our local artists and providing them with opportunities” she said. 

Thanks to Feek’s hard work, Evergreen now boasts five rotating galleries as well as a rotating sculpture collection. 

Artists lend their work to the hospital, which is hung on gallery cable systems and locked in place for security.

“The galleries are in very public areas of the hospital, and people are invited to contact the artists for sales,” said Feek. “Quite a few paintings have sold after hanging in our galleries.”

“Art is a powerful presence at Evergreen,” said Laurene Burton, the administrative director for community relations at the hospital. “Clearly Kathy loves working with art and people. She has seen the profound effect that art can have on a patient’s life and continually strives to bring that sense of healing to the environment here at Evergreen.” 

Feek is currently serving as the eastside arts representative on the 520-bridge project as well as team chair of “Artilization,” a group that works to keep Kirkland’s downtown vital through art. 

“I feel sometimes like this city is a canvas for all of us,“ says Feek. “For people who see art as decoration, I say that the arts are the things that connect us to our humanity, and to each other.”