Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2017)
JUNE 22, 2017 // 9 Continued from Page 8 The ‘& More’ The Cannon Beach festival is special because it’s “the only plein air festival in the entire country that has the ‘& More’ part to it,” according to marketing director Bonnie Gilchrist. “By adding the ‘and more’ component, we were able to invite more artists to participate and make the festival more interesting,” she said. Not only can visitors see artists working in various paint mediums characteristic of traditional “en plein air,” such as oil, pastels and watercolors, but also different art forms altogether, including metalworking, print- making, woodworking, stone carving, bronze sculpture, jewelry making, and fused or blown glass. Dave and Boni Deal, artists who live outside Camas, Wash., and show their work at the White Bird Gallery, will mimic the plein air style during their raku firing on the beach. The Deals, who have collaborated in clay for more than 30 years, bring to their pottery a focus on the natural environment through the plants, geology and wildlife reflected in the themes and materials they use. In that way, they create art that’s influenced by the surrounding environment, Boni Deal said. Her husband, Dave, started learning raku, a type of Japanese ceramic-making, during a summer class in Cannon Beach in the early 1970s. On their two-person team, he’s the potter, while Boni Deal uses her illustrating and painting skills to do surface work. On Saturday, Dave Deal will set up his kiln on the beach near Whale Park, where spectators can watch the drawn-out, low-fire process that evening. The raku style involves pulling artwork out of a kiln while it’s still red-hot and then transferring it to a container filled with combustible materials for post-fir- ing reduction — a step of the process that is “fiery and exciting and dramatic,” Boni Deal said. The smoke that surrounds the art while it cools in the reduction barrel gives the clay a unique appearance: crackly and sooty with metallic accents, almost “ancient-looking,” Boni Deal said. “It’s really slow, so you have to be pa- tient,” she added. The raku firing, which has been part of the festival for three years, will include s’mores and live music by the Rogue Blue Grass Band. The Deals will work on wet clay Sunday, and Boni Deal will demonstrate how they do surfaces while incorporating coastal vegeta- tion and themes. “We’re trying to be like we’re ‘plein air’ artists,” she said. ‘Positive abnormality’ One of the favorite features added to last PHOTO BY GEORGE VETTER SUBMITTED PHOTO The Cannon Beach Gallery Group’s annual Plein Air & More art festival brings together several dozen artists from across the Pacific Northwest who take advantage of the outdoors to create their works of art. Artist Dave Deal conducts a raku firing on the beach at sunset during the Plein Air & More Festival in 2015. He and his wife Boni will be back at the ninth annual Plein Air & More art festival this year and will do the raku firing Saturday night near Whale Park. The Boka Marimba Band plays in the courtyard by the Coaster Theatre Playhouse during last year’s Plein Air & More art festival, put on by the Cannon Beach Gallery Group. The band, sponsored by Pelican Brewing Compa- ny and Hallmark Inns, will be back this year, and will play from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the same location. PHOTO BY GEORGE VETTER ‘EACH GALLERY HAS A DISTINCT DIFFERENCE, AND YOU SEE A JOINT COOPERATIVE EFFORT INSTEAD OF A COMPETITIVE EFFORT.” year’s festival, the Artists’ Swarm, will be back this year. From 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, artists will gather in the courtyard beside the Coaster Theatre Playhouse to work on their pieces while personally interacting with spectators. The idea for the Artists’ Swarm was born of a past scheduling conflict with a different venue, and also the frustration some visitors experienced when they looked for artists around town and could not find them. Taking away that possibility and requiring the artists to practice their craft in one spot for a couple of hours was a successful solution, Gilchrist said. “The energy that came out of that, people loved it,” she said. Kingwell agreed the active gathering of all participating artists for two hours of concen- trated work is “probably the best overall ex- perience for the general public,” and a prime example of the town’s “positive abnormality.” “It’s a bit of a surprise to see this type of thing happening in a town of storefronts,” he said, adding how pleasantly surprised visitors are to “stumble upon this public access to art that they may not have come to town for … I think it’s the most dynamic event Cannon Beach has seen in decades.” While he does not blow glass during the swarm — “we are not able to set up a furnace,” he explained — he and other artists representing the gallery will be available to answer questions about their style of work. Pam Juett, who incorporates glass into her jewelry, will show equipment she uses to make beads and develop her necklaces, brace- lets and earrings. They will be blowing glass at Icefire Glassworks, in midtown, throughout the weekend. Leading up to the Artists Swarm, the Boka Marimba Band will play a concert in the courtyard from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Another new feature to re-appear this year is the Creative Play Space, set up in the U.S. Bank Parking lot on North Hemlock Street, which gives children the chance to explore their own artistic talents. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, artists will be working near their galleries or in one of five locations, including Whale Park; the Coaster Theatre courtyard; the corner of Washington Street and Ocean Avenue; the corner of Harrison Street and Ocean Avenue; and the court- yard behind White Bird Gallery and next to Northwest by Northwest Gallery. Visitors are encouraged to ask the artists questions while they work. Brochures will be available at all gallery locations and the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce; they also will be distributed during the day by Portland stilt-walker Me- lissa Rae. For more information about the artists, contact the individual galleries, listed on cbgallerygroup.com. CW