Public art
Over the years, Jere collaborated with Ray Grimm and other artists on many public art pieces in the region, including iconic installations such as the Weather Machine in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square and large-scale commissions at Skamania Lodge and Salishan Lodge. More of her work can be found at the Public Art Archive.
The Weather Machine is a 30-foot bronze kinetic sculpture in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square that “predicts” the day’s weather at noon. Created by Omen Design Group Inc. (which include Jere and Ray Grimm) and installed in 1988, it debuted before a crowd of 2,000. Jere was the key designer of the Weather Machine’s metal sculpture symbols—a sun, a dragon, and a blue heron.
Oregon State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine
Jere’s design for a major brick sculpture on the facade of Oregon State University’s Magruder Hall was funded with One Percent for Art state money and installed in 2004. The sculpture was built into the School of Veterinary Medicine and depicts the animals students are studying
Skamania Lodge, built in 1993 by developer John Gray who invited Ray and Jere Grimm to propose a sculpture for the breezeway of the lodge. In response they created a bas-relief series of plaques exploring the mythic theme of the Bridge of the Gods; called Tamenah by the Chinookum tribal people of that region using clay and glass mosaic.
