A reserve of talent
Every month, the Chessman Gallery at the Lincoln City Cultural Center opens with a new show, featuring a variety of artists and themes, and always beautifully presented.
But “Reserve Inspiration,” which opens this Friday, Aug. 13, has an extra layer. The show is produced in partnership with the Audubon Society of Lincoln City, which has designated August as Marine Reserve Awareness Month.
A series of activities that include presentations, hikes, bird walks, youth art programing and art kits, are all planned for this celebration of Oregon’s marine reserves.
An in-person opening reception on Friday, Aug. 13, at 5 pm will help kick off this exciting new exhibit, with many of the artists involved in attendance.
Just after the reception at 7 pm will be a presentation in the auditorium, “Diving into Oregon’s Marine Reserves — A Virtual Underwater Tour” by Cristen Don of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A virtual tour of the new exhibit will be posted to the cultural center Facebook page, @lincolncityculture, on Saturday, Aug. 14.
“Reserve Inspiration” features seven coastal artists who share work inspired by the beauty and diversity of the Cascade Head Marine Reserve using media ranging from painting and scientific illustration, to ceramics and photography and even fire painting.
The participating artists involved include Julie Fiedler, a ceramics artist and painter who directs St. James Santiago School; Scott Groth, a marine biologist who guides fisheries to improved sustainability but also has a love for adventure, the sea and photography; Cynthia Longhat-Adams, a self-taught multimedia artist who uses pyrographic methods in an ever-evolving process that powers her growth as an artist; Victoria McOmie, who lives on the Central Oregon Coast and is a painter and mixed media artist taking creative cues from nature for more than four decades; Ernie Rose, who enjoys photographing the natural world around us, especially birds and other wildlife; Nora Sherwood, who holds a certificate in natural science illustration from the University of Washington and works with numerous clients in Oregon and beyond and occasionally has time to paint for her own enjoyment; and Jill Perry Townsend, who paints plein air in oils and loves the ocean and landscape of the coast and the adventure of going out into amazing places to paint.
Cascade Head Marine Reserve, off Lincoln City’s shores, is one of five areas of state coastal waters dedicated to conservation and scientific research, overseen by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“This marine world is largely unseen by the public,” said dawn villaescusa, president of the Audubon Society of Lincoln Cit. “But it’s vitally important to the interconnectedness of plants, animals, and people in a way we’re only beginning to understand.”
Create some marine art of your own with the Rockfish Art Kits, available now from the center’s Art Kit room.
The Chessman Gallery is located inside the Lincoln City Cultural Center at 540 NE Hwy. 101, open from 10 am to 4 pm, Thursday through Sunday.
For more information, go to lincolncity-culturalcenter.org or call 541-994-9994.