From Gesture to Jester
During the pandemic, artist Molly Wullstein Van Austen took a 175-foot roll of paper and, using graphite, Conte crayon and colored pencils, illustrated her thoughts, memories and imaginings onto it.
Follow along with the long drawing as it winds its way through the Chessman Gallery at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, Friday, March 4 through May 1.
Meet the artist at the opening reception at 5 pm this Friday, March 4, or take the virtual gallery tour on the cultural center’s Facebook page posted the next day.
Van Austen has actually lived through two pandemics: polio as well as COVID-19.
“The isolation makes me concentrate on others,” she said. ”Each image in this long drawing is a meditation on some dear person in my life. That brings me joy and sadness. Memories prolong life and intensify our emotions.”
Many years ago, her grandmother took her to the Word War II USO in Salt Lake City where she saw a soldier drawing a picture of another soldier. Impressed, she said, "I want to do that."
She has been drawing and painting ever since and has had numerous solo and group exhibitions, including at the Quirini Stampaglia Palace in Venice, Italy, and in the United States National and International Exhibition in Rome and Paris.
Her work is included in private collections in Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Mexico and the US.
Van Austen taught for many years at Taft Elementary in Lincoln City. Now retired from teaching, she is a member of The Casbah, a group of Oregon painters, writers, sculptors, musicians and thespians dedicated to furthering the arts.
"As I place a line on paper I watch as it begins to dance,” she said. ”Sometimes it is a ballet. Sometimes it is a clog slog and not infrequently a tap dance. It spins, turns, stretches, reaches a vivid height and then by the roll of the dice it collapses. Meandering or rushing, it gyrates and shouts for color, taking on a life (and a gamble) of its own from gesture to jester. The relationship of one image to another becomes a metaphor as astonishing as life itself."
While this exhibit is featured at the Chessman Gallery, visitors will be able to explore this idea for themselves by drawing on a new roll of paper to create a community long drawing.
The roll of paper for public use will be installed in the hallway and will be available to see and draw on during the center’s open hours.
The Lincoln City Cultural Center is located at 540 NE Hwy. 101 and is open Thursdays through Mondays from 10 am to 4 pm. For more information, go to lincolncity-culturalcenter.org or call 541-994-9994.