My New Happy: Rainworks In Seattle

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Rainworks In Seattle


If you surveyed a group of people and asked what comes to mind when you think of Seattle, I'm pretty sure 9 out of 10 of them would say rain.  We're sort of known for damp, gray skies.

I was surprised when my smarty pants son informed me that Seattle actually ranks 44th on the list of rainiest US cities, with 38" of annual rainfall.  (Even more surprising was #1 - Mobile, AL - with almost double our amount at 67".)

I think what makes it seem like it rains in Seattle all the time - is the fact that it rains in Seattle all the time.  Those 38" fall over 154 days, which means there's a lot of what I like to call "drizzle". No big downpours for a few hours with sunshine at the end.  Just days upon days of misty, wet drizzle, especially from October to May.  

Honestly, it can get kind of depressing sometimes.  

Unless you're Peregrine Church, the founder and mastermind behind the Rainworks project. (As an aside, how cool is his name?  I think he was destined for great things.) "I've always been interested in novel ways to make the world a more interesting place," says Church.

Rainworks are positive messages, artwork and oftentimes funny sayings that appear on the ground throughout the city of Seattle - but only when it rains. Church got the idea when he saw an ad for a water repelling spray.  "It's going to rain anyway.  Why not do something fun with it?"



What started out as a fun experiment is now turning into a business for Church, who has several commissioned pieces in the works.  His website has a map that shows where all of the current Rainworks are located.  I can't wait to go check them out.

If you have a few minutes, watch this video.  It's guaranteed to brighten up your day.  Even if it's raining!

28 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness this is so cool! What a fabulous way to brighten up a rainy day!! Susan

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    1. I can't wait to head to Seattle and look for some of these!

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  2. That is amazing, Lana! I had no idea there was something like that. What an awesome thing to do to help bring smiles to people's faces in the midst of all that depressing rain. I would love to visit Seattle sometime. It's on my list :). Thanks for letting me know about this. I'm really surprised too that Seattle was so far down on the list of rainy cities. I thought it rained constantly there.

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    1. We just tell everyone else that it always rains here! I hope you get to visit someday - it's a wonderful city!

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  3. How cool is that?! Now I am actually hoping it rains next time I am in Seattle, so I can see one of his messages (and then it can stop!) We are semi-arid - our annual precipitation is only about 11 inches, and that includes our snow! June can be wet though.

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    1. It always looks so lovely in your pictures, so it doesn't surprise me that you don't get much rain.

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  4. What a terrific idea! I love his name too. We get most of our rain during the fall months, but it has been rainier this year than years before. I would love to check out his messages. I want to play hopscotch!

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  5. Splashin' raindrops! I am so sharing this, Lana. Great post. He needs to pop up here to Vancouver and work his magic. Perhaps when he runs out of "canvas" in Seattle.

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    1. Maybe he will go traveling one of these days - he could definitely do a lot of work in Vancouver!

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  6. How fun! I didn't notice this when I last visited Seattle.

    bisous
    Suzanne

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    1. I've never seen it either, but I'm going to be on the lookout now.

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  7. I LOVE this idea! So much! Creative guy.

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  8. Oh my gosh! This is truly so cool! I want to do this to our driveway. I'm going to check into this more.

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  9. I never saw this and am in Seattle regularly and NO, the rain never bothers me -- came from the Midwest and will take it over the SNOW ANYDAY

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    1. I'm not much of a snow person either, but I do get tired of the rain sometimes.

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  10. Wow Lana... what an incredibly cool idea... I love this... too bad we couldn't come up with something that snow would repel away from... soon it will be Spring...xox

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    1. Haha - maybe someone will come up with something like that someday!

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  11. *Everywhere* needs this! The world would be a much happier place 😁 thank you for sharing this!!

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  12. What a cool guy! I love the positivity and the fun. I usually like when it either rains or it doesn't. The misty, wet drizzle days drive me crazy!

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    1. I'm with you - the constant drizzle can be really depressing sometimes!

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