Submitted by Redmond Town Center

Redmond Town Center commissioned Duvall artist Daniel Cautrell to create an outdoor display in Center Plaza that was both creative and colorful. Cautrell was the perfect choice to develop his flag project since his mission as an artist is to “create work that is approachable and accessible to a diverse viewing public.”

Cautrell’s art project, named “The Breeze Gave Freely,” is a display of flags that are colorful and alternate with diverse block prints — representing the activities surrounding Redmond Town Center and the Redmond community as a whole: bicycles, flowers, water fountains, cups of steaming coffee, sun and trees.

In order to complete this artwork, Cautrell carved several designs into wood blocks, and then used the blocks for printing his wood-cut images onto the flags. Cautrell created the design with 1,200 flags and 12 different illustrations of printing onto fabrics that would retain their brightness throughout the summer season. These flags, similar to Tibetan prayer flags, make for a dynamic and visually striking image, especially when the breeze circulates and makes the flags dance.

Cautrell is one of the artists affiliated with VALA (Venue for Artists in the Local Area).

“This is the first time we’ve had a private sponsorship of a VALA AIR (artist in residence) program artist. Redmond Town Center supports artists beyond measure and it is a natural step for them to be our first formal sponsorship. We are lucky to have such commitment to the arts from the private sector in our local community,” says VALA Co-founder and President Jessica Lambert. “And we are lucky to have such commitment to the arts from the private sector in our local community.”

The “Breeze Gave Freely” flags will be on display throughout the summer.