Fundraising co-chairs Russel Barsh and Scott Rozenbaum announced today that they are just $500 short of their goal for purchasing Tamara Shane’s dramatic copper and wood sculpture “Recycles of Life” which has been temporarily installed in Lopez Village overlooking Fisherman Bay.

The fundraising drive has been extended to Jan. 31 in the hope that the last dollars can still be raised.

“We are 75 percent to the finish line,” says Barsh, whose nonprofit organization Kwiaht originally commissioned the sculpture for a series of public art installations that began in June 2012. He explains that materials and installation for such a large work can exceed half the total cost. “A public art installation of this quality in Seattle would cost much, much more,” he adds. “This is a bargain for Lopez.”

Donations can still be made through Jan. 31 by using the Donate button on Kwiaht’s website (www.kwiaht.org/donate.htm), or by mailing a check to Kwiaht, Post Office Box 415, Lopez Island.

“Recycles of Life” would be the first major sculpture by a local artist purchased for permanent public display on Lopez.