Art by the Sea

An Outdoor Artwalk at the Des Moines Marina

The Des Moines Marina offers more than sweeping views and salty sea air—it’s also a vibrant outdoor gallery waiting to be explored.

This self-guided walking tour invites you to stroll the marina’s scenic paths while uncovering unique public art installations that reflect the spirit, history, and creativity of Seattle Southside. Whether you're a curious local or a visiting art lover, this walk promises a refreshing blend of nature, culture, and inspiration—no tickets or time limits required. Lace up your shoes and let the artwork guide your journey.

You can see all these pieces in under an hour just by walking around the waterfront (with a few bonus stops a 10-20 minute walk into town). We recommend taking your time, though. The longer you spend soaking up the scene along the shoreline, the more you'll understand how the natural environment and spirit of the marina inspired these artists.

Joy by Sabah Al-Dhaher

Facing the sea is a striking sculpture of a human figure reaching toward the sky in triumph. The arms and head are missing, as if the sculpture had been there for centuries. This is Joy by Sabah Al-Dhaher, a Seattle-based artist who came to the U.S. from Iraq as a political refugee in 1993. It is part of a series called “Labyrinth to Joy," which expresses his life's journey.

"As Seattle became home to me, I came into a much more joyful period, because I unloaded all that stuff that I held that had to do with the war," says Al-Dhaher. "Now I have more of a focus on having the movement in the body to breathe.”

Like many of his pieces, it is left intentionally unfinished, as if an image in a dream.

The Marinascope by George C. Scott

At the south end of the marina is the Marinascope, a futuristic sculpture that invites you to step inside its whimsical doorway. Des Moines glass artist George C. Scott made the structure in 2018 from a refurbished shipping lane buoy once used in the construction of the second Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Scott transformed the buoy by creating portholes of varying sizes around its exterior, filling them with colorful fused glass circles made by local residents in his studio. Once inside this "walk-through kaleidoscope," you'll see how sunlight filters through the circles, highlighting the region's maritime connection.

Pictured: The Marinscope by George C. Scott at the Des Moines Marina

Yakutat by Gretchen Daiber

Yakutat, a lifelike seal that looks up sweetly at passersby, was inspired by artist Gretchen Daiber's experience as a longtime commercial fisher in Alaska.

“Harbor seals are constant companions to fishermen," she said. "They look like your neighborhood dogs swimming up to the boat. And the moms will leave their pups on the beach while they go out to fish.”

The impetus for the sculpture came one day when Daiber and her husband were anchored in Yakutat Bay to wait out a storm. They went ashore to walk along the beach, where they found chunks of marble and brought a few pieces back to their boat. Daiber carved a harbor seal pup out of one of the pieces. Later, she took a mold of the sculpture and cast it in bronze. It's a fitting piece at the marina, where harbor seals can also be seen bobbing in and out of Puget Sound.

Compass Rose by George C. Scott

Compass Rose reflects the region's maritime spirit. This installation, created in collaboration with the Des Moines Arts Commission, features vibrant cast glass discs by local artist George C. Scott. Each disc marks a cardinal direction, with a centerpiece bearing the Des Moines city logo. A two-way mirror behind the centerpiece allows light to transform the installation: by day, sunlight illuminates the colored glass; by night, backlighting brings it to life. Scott volunteered his time to create the piece, and was motivated as both an artist and longtime resident of Des Moines: “I want the place I live in to be beautiful and have things of interest.”

Fun Fact: This piece is also a stop on the UFO Mysteries Trail.

Expecting to Fly by Leo E. Osborne

Expecting to Fly by Washington-based artist Leo E. Osborne resembles a wing riding on the wind, but its meaning is left up to interpretation. Is it a reference to the Buffalo Springfield song "Expecting to Fly"? An homage to birds? One clue is a poem paired with the piece on the artist's website:

She came here

Her soul opened

She embraced

Her Self

She emerged

and now

Expecting to Fly

More Art Nearby

If you're up for a 15-minute walk into downtown Des Moines, or a very short drive, there are several more intriguing pieces to explore.

Octavia by George C. Scott

Octavia, located at the intersection across from Big Catch Plaza, is a vibrant, golden-yellow glass sculpture with a surprising backstory. Local artist George C. Scott got the idea for the 14-foot-high sculpture while on a walk on the pier at the Des Moines Marina. Looking down at the water, he saw what appeared to be a massive sea monster wrestling a Giant Pacific Octopus. To this day, he isn't sure what the animal was, but he's guessing it was an enormous sea lion. The scene continued for nearly an hour, captivating Scott and inspiring him to create this piece. It's especially captivating at night, when the glow from the traffic lights transforms its color.

Big Catch Statue

Big Catch Statue by nationally renowned artist Richard Beyer is artistry with a dose of tongue-in-cheek humor. The suggestive statue created quite a stir when unveiled to the public in the 1990s. Legend has it that Beyer later explained himself by making up a fairytale. In the story, a beautiful maiden is turned into a fish and saved when her fisherman boyfriend kisses her. Whatever you think of it, it's now a symbol of Des Moines that captures the community's love of the ocean and penchant for fun. Beyer is also famous for creating several notable works around Seattle, including "Waiting for the Interurban" in Fremont, and "Feeding the Seagulls" at the Seattle waterfront. His work brings out the personality of people and animals through expressively carved gestures and stories.

The Maury Island Incident Mural + Obelisk +

The Maury Island Incident Mural, just a 10-minute walk from the marina at the intersection of S 223rd St. and 6th Ave. S, is a window into Seattle Southside's mysterious brush with extraterrestrial visitors. Displayed on the side of an old shipping container, the mural tells the story of the 1947 Maury Island Incident, the first documented UFO sighting in U.S. history. As the tale goes, local man Harold Dahl was out on his boat with his son and his dog, Sparky, when they saw six strange floating discs that began raining debris on them, tragically killing Sparky. Since the mural was installed, the mystery around it has only grown: beside it, a strange 10-foot obelisk with a secret message inscribed on it inexplicably appeared one day. Nearby, another metal sculpture by artist Fred Andrews pays homage to Sparky.

The mural is another stop on our UFO Mysteries Trail.

Raven Discovers Spaceship by Pat McVay

Raven Discovers Spaceship, located in front of George C. Scott's studio at 22220 7th Ave S, Des Moines, WA, playfully captures our region's local lore. This carved and painted wood piece, created by sculptor Pat McVay, brings together extraterrestrials, ocean creatures, and a curious crow in a curious and otherworldly scene. Carved from a piece of old-growth Cedar salvaged from the Olympic Peninsula and painted in bright, shimmering colors, the sculpture is another nod to the Maury Island Incident. With the raven gazing curiously at the spaceship, McVay was partly inspired by the Haida, Indigenous peoples of the PNW Coast. According to the Haida creation myth, the Raven, a trickster, found the first people inside a clamshell and coaxed them to come out. The image also invites us to think about how "what's weird" is all a matter of perspective.

"Everyone thinks that aliens look so strange, but if you look around at the life on our planet, it's pretty strange, too," said McVay.

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