Seattle, Washington
1986

In 1985 the Pike Place Market Foundation put out a call to artists to submit proposals for a public sculpture that was to become the Mascot of the Market. A requirement was for the artwork to have the ability to collect donations that would help fund social service organizations in the neighborhood.

Georgia’s proposal of a life size Sow/Piggy Bank was chosen. She used as her model the Champion of the 1985 Island County Fair, named Rachel, who happened to live nearby. The sculpture contains a locking money collection box that slides in and out of the piece.

Rachel was installed in 1986 and has become a well known Seattle landmark and photo opportunity. She collects an average of $10,000 in donations each year.

Around 2000, Georgia created a less refined replica of Rachel, and a sitting version that became known as Billie. Both of these pieces were cast in bronze and molded to enable the production of fiberglass copies. These fiberglass versions were given to other artists to alter and/or decorate, and displayed around Seattle as “Pigs on Parade”. They were later auctioned off in support of the Market Foundation. The Bronze version of Billie was eventually fitted with a collection box similar to Rachel’s and installed in the lower Market area.