Step into a world of art

Oregon Coast artist Carol Shenk will share her work at a number of events this fall, starting with “Tea & Talk” at the Newport Visual Arts Center on Thursday, Oct. 6. Tea and cookies will accompany Shenk’s talk about her art work, new book illustrations and upcoming drawing classes.

The drawing classes begin on Oct. 6 with “Beginning Drawing - Drawing from Life,” a six-week course employing traditional and experimental approaches to drawing using a variety of tools and media.  

“Why Are You Drawing,” beginning on Oct. 22, is a workshop for people who want to build confidence using drawing beyond literal representation by investigating how and why we draw.

Prior to her recent return to studio art, Shenk worked for 20 years in the field of local government records, including as archivist for King County, Washington. As an archivist, she designed exhibits that told the stories of people and places through historical photographs, documents and other records.

Shenk recently completed the illustrations for a children’s book, “Our Little Cook Stove.” 

In creating the artwork for the book, her reverence for the natural world, her imagination and her love of history all come through. Her unique style is a playful combination of drawing, painting and collage that creates a nurturing and delightful world for her characters to inhabit.

“Our Little Cookstove” takes place in Washington’s Yakima Valley in the early 1900s with a little girl named Beatrice. Little Beatrice lives on a farm with Mamma and Pappa and her sisters Gladys and Cleo. At the center of their home is a little black cook stove, where fresh biscuits await her after school and baby chicks nestle together for warmth. Adapted from a short piece that the adult Beatrice wrote many years later, the book features 20 of Shenk’s illustrations.

“Tea and talk begins” at 2 pm. The Newport Visual Arts Center is located at 777 NW Beach Drive. For more Information, go to coastarts.org or call 541-574-3364.