What is Blades of Change?
Blades of Change is an equitable arts and community storytelling initiative transforming industrial nuclear fan blades into monumental canvases for artists.
The nuclear fan blades (each 6 x 4 feet) originated at the never-completed Satsop Nuclear Power Plant in Elma, WA. They were discovered by lifelong artist, educator, and environmental activist, Jill Drllevich who founded Blades of Change in 2017. We work with artists of all disciplines who transform these iconic pieces of history into new works of art.
“I want to create an awareness about kindness, about sustainability, about coming together more than arguing.” -- Jill Drllevich, Founder, Blades of Change
A Note From
Our Founder
“I have been an artist and social change activist since the late 1960s when I volunteered to work with former New York City Mayor John Lindsay’s program bringing art “happenings” to inner city youth.
Blades of Change, facilitates an outlet for those who are ready to tell their stories and raise their voices through artistic expression. It seeks to link artists across generations, cultures, and movements by providing a unifying and evocative found object as a sculptural base.
These iconic found objects are the fan blades manufactured for the failed Satsop Nuclear Power Plant Project in Elma, Washington in the late 1970s. I managed to salvage over 200 of these unused blades, thereby keeping over 40,000 pounds of fiberglass from ending up in the landfill and repurposing them into this innovative artist initiative.
I am making available these historically important pieces of history to artists to use as the building blocks for creative projects with profound impact.”
- Jill Drllevich, Founder, Blades of Change