Rufus Magnus
by Barbara McIntyre

“Red is a magical color for me, and I use it in the manner of a wish for prosperity and good luck to the resurgence of the Steelhead Trout in our area. The gold scales further enhance that wish. My vision is to create a piece that will command attention and bring the plight of our creeks and the Steelhead Trout into the public view.”

Sponsor: UCSB Bren School and MSI

Species Vanished
by Michael Irwin

“ Mike Irwin’s sculpture is half devoted to the story of a species threatened by human development, half devoted to the wonder and awe of that species. One side has a recipe for broiled steelhead while the other a chalk drawing of a steelhead feeding on an insect. With its “faint ghost of an image,” the chalkboard and its half-erased markings work nicely as a metaphor for the fading species. “ —The SB Independent, Vol.21, May 2007

Sponsors: County of Santa Barbara, City of Santa Barbara--Creeks Division, Hollister Ranch Conservancy

Fish Named Sue
by Rick Tontz

"A Fish Named Sue was inspired by the dualities in the life of the Steelhead Trout. The rusty brown side is the mountains with the river. On the blue side is the ocean and Channel Islands. I also wanted to portray this Steelhead as an old, weathered, almost forgotten about species but, with a determination to crack through the barriers and find its way back to the ocean and its migratory nature. The title is inspired by a Johnny Cash song about a boy named Sue.”

Sponsors: Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Ty Warner Sea Center, Questa Engineering

Celebrating Steelhead
by Susan LeVine

“As the steelhead struggles for its very existence it still celebrates life. As we celebrate the life around us we realize how precious it is and we value it. Several young adults and young children helped me paint this fish. Just as we are mothers and fathers of our children we are stewards of this world. I hope that the Celebrating Steelhead brings a happy and hopeful light to the threatening situation of the steelhead trout.”

Sponsors: Santa Barbara Sailing Center, Outfooters, Pacific Auto Body

Bulwark
by Tara Fadenrecht

“The steelhead trout, a beautiful, valuable creature needs our protection. Safeguarding the trout from pollutants, eliminating non-native vegetation and removing/modifying barriers to fish migration are a few ways that we can armor the steelhead trout. Thus, my sculpture will employ weaving and copper to create an elegant metal sheath/armor for the steelhead trout.”

Sponsor: The Santa Barbara Regional Chamber of Commerce

Vision Quest
by Jacob and Barbara McIntyre

The painting on Vision Quest is a collaboration between Jacob and Barbara McIntyre. Jacob added extra color and pattern over Barbara’s base coat and Chumash rock art designs. This Trout, with its bright patterns and symbols, is meant to speak to the public of our stewardship and reverence for nature and the environment.

Sponsor: El Capitan Canyon

Integral Beauty
by Rebecca Stebbins

“The steelhead, wild and beautiful, is an essential element of our landscape, and also dependent upon it for survival.  By conveying the beauty of our landscape as inseparable from the steelhead, I hope to remind us all of the significance of our natural heritage and of the importance of protecting it.”

Sponsor: California Trout

The Data Fish
by Matthew McAvene

“We live in the most pivotal age in human history, as we are learning to balance our economy with our ecology and transition into a more conscious society aspiring to new moral heights in our collective efforts.  As we care-take the planet and the creatures which dwell therein, may we rediscover the value of all life and the knowledge which can be found within each creature, like the magnificent Steelhead Trout.”

Sponsors: Cachuma Project Water Agencies, Magic FM, The Santa Barbara Independent