A few weeks ago, Seattle artist Benson Shaw was working on the new public art display on the corner of Rainier Avenue and South Grady Way when suddenly, an out-of-control car came careening over the curb and smashed into a pole.

Benson darted out of the way and there was some damage to the pole, but thank goodness, he saw it coming in time to avoid being hit.

“I admit I had an adrenalin rush when I saw the car coming toward us!” he remembered recently.

The new gateway to Renton, formally titled “Going Global,” is getting plenty of notice. Shaw was selected to design the new gateway project by the Renton Municipal Art Commission in January 2011. It’s a component of a larger capital project for Rainier Avenue improvement through the Department of Transportation.

From Benson’s website: “Going Global is an optimistic assessment of Renton’s past, current and future cultures. It expresses Renton’s civic ideals of adaptability and fluidity. The ‘wave’ references Renton’s myriad connections to water. Duwamish peoples and other early inhabitants harvested the bounties of this wetland site.”

I recently met with Benson as he was doing some final installation details on that intersection. As he stood high on a ladder, wearing a yellow hard hat and adjusting a blue globe on top of a pole, I thought he might be a city worker; but I soon realized it was Benson himself!

We spoke while he continued to work. I admired the beautiful mosaic he had created on the low stone wall circling the intersection. “Welcome to Renton” was imprinted in blue mosaic tile and the wall was surrounded by a wave of shimmering blue globes on top of poles. The globes are made of a clear resin casting embedded with mirrored reflective sequins of blue glass chips. The arc of varying-height globes reminded me of both ocean waves and a solar system of revolving blue planets.

Shaw is a well-recognized artist in Seattle, specializing in public art and historic restoration. In addition to creating his own artworks, he collaborates and sub-contracts with other artists in planning, design development and fabrication. Multiple materials and intricate connections are typical in his pieces. He works closely with client agency personnel, design team and community groups to integrate art into a greater project.

Benson said he was a science kid growing up but also loved all things artistic. He achieved his graduate degree in science while also taking graduate courses in fine arts with an emphasis on sculpture.

When he met with Renton city planners and art commissioners in 2011, he said they all agreed they wanted something beyond a simple monument. He said it was a “superior experience” as they worked together with enthusiasm to create what was to be a great success. They reviewed potential locations in terms of traffic, utilities, and pedestrians.

“We attended neighborhood community groups and were sensitive to aesthetics and the artistic preferences of local people,” he said. “I began by looking at the site context, researching the area, history and other information. I asked questions about what people in Renton would find appealing – possibly something iconic. And the Arts Commission was looking for art that was solid and bold – a gateway ‘wow!’”

We were joined that day by Arts Commissioner Evelyn Reingold who has been a part of the original team since the beginning of this project.

Evelyn told me, “We selected Benson Shaw because he had by far the most impressive design, was flexible in his artistry, and was able to maximize the artistic impact.”

You can visit Benson’s website at www.bensonshaw.com to see examples of Benson’s other works of art that can be found throughout the Seattle area and beyond.

The view of this new Renton beacon is a spectacular site after dark, lighting the night near where previous generations of Renton youth still reminisce about “cruising the loop.”

I drove by recently and was awed by the spectacle but I was careful not to lose control of my car while admiring these bright blue celestial globes glowing in the night.

As an art commissioner for the city of Renton, I take some personal pride in this beautiful new addition to our city.