The alchemy of art
Story & photos by Gretchen Ammerman
Oregon Coast TODAY
Like many people who received evacuation orders during the Echo Mountain fire, Arlene and Lyle Gowing figured that safety officers were acting out of an abundance of caution and that they would soon be able to return to their home in the Salmon River Mobile Village.
“The fire was on the other side of the Salmon River in the North Bank area so we figured we were safe.” Arlene said. “But then the fire decided to walk across the river.”
The fire completely destroyed all but two of the homes on the park, including the Gowings’.
“We left with two days’ worth of clothes, our cats and our medicine,” Arlene said. “We ended up losing everything else.”
They have, however, been left with a lot of appreciation for the people that have helped them as volunteers or in an official capacity.
“It’s incredible how generous this county is,” Arlene said. “We’ve also heard complaints about how FEMA is handling things, but we have found them to be great.”
Currently living in a 24-foot RV, Lyle and Arlene are surrounded by donated items but also two striking items they found once they returned to their property. The items, both of which had been alchemically altered in ways the couple find aesthetically pleasing, will be part of the Chessman Gallery’s upcoming “From the Ashes” show.
“One thing we found was a piece of aluminum that we assume was once a clam gun,” Arlene said. “It had melted into a shape like a river and actually looks really neat; we might even use it as a wall hanging.”
The other object had started life as a large cobalt blue vase the couple had received as a “Volunteers of the Year” award.
“We found a bunch of large pieces of different colors of shattered glass that had then been fused together,” Arlene said. “It’s now kind of a bouquet of glass. It’s really neat looking. And, because of the colors, we know that the vase is part of it; so it has meaning for us beyond being pretty.”
The Gowings both work with their hands: Lyle weaves rugs out of salvaged pieces of wool Pendleton blankets, and Arlene knits hats using yarn she hand-spins from sheep and alpaca wool.
They are both active members of the Fiber Arts Studio Gallery in the Lincoln City Cultural Center and the Itinerant Artists Marketplace at the Lincoln City Outlets, so luckily, they have hand-made items that survived the fire because they were at one of those places.
But the loss of other precious possessions, like a stone grinder that was more than a century old, still stings.
“You can’t begin to count the things we’re sad about,” Lyle said. “But you can count the thing we are most happy about, and that’s that we’re both here.”
Have a story to tell or item you'd like included in the show? Send a message to gammerman@oregoncoasttoday.com.