There’s some seriously fun etching happening on the construction site for Inspiration Playground at Bellevue’s Downtown Park. Flying spots, spiraling lollipops, and polka dots are some of the small fun artistic details soon to be found embedded in the concrete to enhance seats and walls.

Along the arching “Tactile Walk” is a patterned colored concrete path interspersed with bands of colorful tumbled glass in red, blue, yellow and green, sections inset with pebbles and cobbles, and areas with impressions of leaves.  Curved seat walls are super-special design features constructed in concrete with sandblasted etchings and colored with Lithichrome stone paints. 

The Wisdom Tree Plaza and Rockin’ Music Plaza have seat walls with donor’s inscriptions. Surrounding the inscriptions are fun whimsical flower, insect and grass images. Ladybugs, flying dragonflies and butterflies with trailing flight dots, green grasses and leaves, polka dotted mushrooms, red spiraling lollipop flowers, yellow daisies, violet tulips are etched in concrete and colored with stone paints.

On-site testing on sample walls looked at varying textures and finishes to determine the perfect level and intensity of texture and depth.