Plan to send floats to New York sinks

BELLEVUE, Wash. – A project to send thousands of glass spheres to families of people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has stalled after organizers failed to collect enough money to send the glasswork to New York.

The project, in its third year, is headed by Renee Pound, owner of Art by Fire, which made about 1,500 floats. This year, Pound decided to enlist high school students.

The floats represent how people have handled the events of Sept. 11, 2001, said Jason Moodie, a Sammamish High School art teacher who guided the 12 students in making about 1,000 floats for the project.

“It’s buoyant, kind of like our attitudes in that we’re dealing with 9/11 – we’re staying afloat,” he said.

Just days before organizers planned for the colorful glass floats to be distributed in New York, the glasswork remains in storage and at a Ballard art studio.

The group couldn’t raise the estimated $2,000 to $3,000 needed to ship the glass when the project didn’t qualify to receive a shipping donation and a fund for public donations to the project collected only $200.

Corporate donations weren’t sought because they didn’t think they would need to, said Moodie.

Pound offered to pay the shipping herself but then couldn’t afford it with a new gallery opening.

The school and Pound lost the approximately $1,200 they spent for the glass, color and operating costs to help the students, Moodie said.