Two towering dragons built entirely from Lake Huron driftwood now stand guard over one of Detroit's busiest Eastside commuter corridors. Artist Tina Tabbi, 61, of Croswell, installed the sculptures along the Moross Greenway earlier this week, bringing a project years in the making to a stretch of road between I-94 and Mack Avenue.
The installation happened Tuesday, according to the Detroit Free Press, and it took a small crew to get the pair of dragons into place. Arienne Zimmerman, a 39-year-old sculpture technician assistant with the Midwest Sculpture Initiative, helped secure one of the dragons with a strap during setup, while 28-year-old Ray Uresti, a member of the installation crew Flatlanders, guided the piece as it was maneuvered onto its median perch, per the same account. Tabbi's son, 42-year-old Michael Tabbi, also pitched in, prepping two of the driftwood dragon sculptures for installation.
A Hands-On Finish, Right Down to the Glue
Even after the sculptures were set on their concrete islands, Tabbi kept working. She dabbed glue onto the eye of the dragon named Croswell and made additional touch-ups after both pieces were in place, the Free Press reports. At one point during the process, a piece of driftwood fell loose from one of the dragons, and Uresti helped Tabbi reattach it on the spot, according to the same report.
The moment also drew a bit of neighborhood input. Tabbi discussed exactly where to position one of the dragons with 87-year-old Roger Garrett, who was on hand as the sculptures went up, per the Free Press.
Named for the Shorelines That Built Them
The two dragons carry names tied directly to where their materials came from. One is called Croswell, after Tabbi's hometown, while the other is named Lexington, for the Michigan city where the majority of its driftwood was gathered, according to the Free Press. Tabbi personally held a section of the Lexington dragon as it was positioned during the installation.
According to the City of Croswell, Tabbi collected all of the weathered wood used in both dragons along the Lake Huron shorelines near Lexington, Michigan, sorting and categorizing the washed-up pieces over several months. The Croswell dragon measures roughly 9.5 feet by 9.5 feet and stands 6.5 feet tall, while the reclining Lexington dragon stretches about 12 feet long and 3.5 feet wide.
From ArtPrize to a Swinging Bridge to Detroit's Medians
Tabbi's driftwood dragon project, titled Catch My Drift, has already logged plenty of miles before reaching Detroit. The work was featured at Grand Rapids' ArtPrize festival in 2025, according to Awesome Mitten. Before the Detroit installation, the City of Croswell said the dragons would be displayed near the historic Swinging Bridge gazebo from the weekend of its notice through the Santa Parade, per the city's live feed.
Getting a spot on the Moross Greenway isn't automatic. The rotating outdoor gallery, which spans seven median islands and sees roughly 19,000 drivers pass daily, requires sculptures to stand at least 6 feet tall so they remain visible across its 100-foot-wide medians, according to Grosse Pointe News. That threshold screens out smaller works that organizers say would otherwise get lost in the landscape.
How the Greenway's Art Program Works
The Moross Greenway Project began as a nonprofit effort in 2009, according to Deadline Detroit. Volunteers planted more than 100 trees, 500 shrubs, and 9,700 perennials along the corridor, the outlet reports. Art came later, layered onto that landscaping to turn the stretch into something closer to an open-air gallery for Eastside commuters.
About half of the 20 to 25 sculptures on display rotate out each year, with individual pieces typically staying on loan for one to two years, Grosse Pointe News notes. The greenway's sculpture program also doubles as a small marketplace: displayed works, aside from any permanent acquisitions, are available for purchase, with 80% of the sale price going to the artist and 20% returned to support the greenway, according to the Moross Greenway Project.
The Midwest Sculpture Initiative, which assisted with the dragons' installation, has been coordinating that kind of logistical support since sculptor Kenneth M. Thompson founded the organization in Lenawee County in 2003. Whether Tabbi's dragons find a buyer during their stay on the greenway, or how long they'll remain before the next rotation, is not yet known.
