Double vision
The Chessman Gallery’s two new exhibits are sure to catch your eye
Don’t think twice about heading to the Lincoln City Cultural Center for a double art opening this Friday, Aug. 9.
In the Chessman Gallery you’ll find “Lost and Found: Objects and Elements” by Jennifer Norman and Dorcas Holzapfel.
An opening reception on Friday at 5 pm, will offer wine, appetizers, an art giveaway game and a chance to meet the artists.
A virtual tour of the opening will be posted to the LincolnCityCulture Facebook page on Saturday.
Norman is a self-taught artist who has developed a unique style in the form of shadow boxes that include found and vintage items.
She began her part-time art career in the late 1980s, producing Native American drums, quivers, bags and parfleches. She was involved in numerous Western art shows throughout Washington and Oregon. When she retired from her “real” job, she changed direction and found a way to utilize all of the junk that she had been collecting for decades. This could mean anything from dead bugs, to animal bones to broken doll parts. When she is not putting together shadow boxes, she is walking around with her head down so as not to miss a rusty nail or a cicada exoskeleton.
At the opening reception art giveaway, one of Norman’s shadow boxes will go to the raffle winner who correctly guesses the titles of a few of her works that are based on “old sayings.”
Holzapfel takes inspiration from the coastal environment to create works that include many forms of local natural elements and often venture into the abstract. Her works include sand, shells, grasses, rocks and fossils and other forms of natural elements that are found in the area. The resulting evocative paintings and collages reflect her childhood upbringing on a seashore on the East Coast.
Holzapfel learned painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and operated a successful fine arts gallery in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She then ventured into the field of commercial design as an art director for an international gaming corporation. Upon moving to Oregon, she was the graphics/design manager of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, followed by establishing her own graphic design firm in Portland. She then moved on to become head of creative design and vice president of creative development at several major Portland advertising agencies.
In 2014, she and her husband moved to reside full time on Cascade Head, which due to its pristine state of nature, provides her with a constant source of inspiration.
The show runs through October 13.
Also opening on Aug. 9 will be a “rewind” exhibit of the PNW Community Coral Reef Project in the Fiber Arts Studio Gallery. The opening reception at 5 pm will have wine and appetizers.
This exhibit first ran last September but many were unable to see it due to the Cultural Plaza construction. This room-sized art installation is the culmination of a community-based art project spanning more than three years that encouraged fiber artists and crafters to create corals and creatures. Inspired by the Wertheim sisters of Australia, this fiber art coral reef takes the viewers through healthy and bleached reefs, exploring ideas of conservation, preservation and the effects of climate change. Spearheaded by fiber artists Christina Harkness and Shanna Smith Suttner, hundreds of crocheters, knitters, felters and weavers have come together to bring attention to this beautiful yet threatened ecosystem.
“The majority of people visiting our reef will have never had the opportunity to visit a real coral reef,” Harkness said. “People are moved to care about ecosystems that they have actually experienced. We hope to inspire our visitors to love coral reefs as much as we do.”
The show runs through October 9 at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, located at 540 NE Hwy. 101, open from 10 am to 5 pm, Wednesday through Sunday.
For more information, go to lincolncity-culturalcenter.org or call 541-994-9994.
But wait, there’s more…
The Pacific Artists Co-op Gallery, just next door to the cultural center, is also having a special opening on Friday, Aug. 9, at 5 pm to celebrate its 15-year anniversary.
The gallery’s feature wall will showcase artist Michelle Galli, who will be on hand to answer questions about her process. Noted pastel and oil artist Stephanie Reitmajer will be demonstrating her process while Dave Waite serenades the party with his guitar. A selection of complimentary wines will add to a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.