Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2016)
2 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Two artists join Astoria Visual Arts residency program SUBMITTED PHOTO Sign up for the workshop “Drawing Skulls: Real and Imagined,” taking place Oct. 29 at the Seaside Public Library. Draw spooky skulls at Seaside Public Library SEASIDE — Do you like to draw? Like skulls? Why not combine the two and sign up for Seaside Public Library’s “Drawing Skulls: Real and Imagined” with local artist and illustrator Dorota Haber-Lehigh. The free workshop will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 and is sponsored by the Friends of the Seaside Library. You must sign up for this class in advance and can do so at the circulation desk or by calling the library at 503- 738-6742. All materials will be provided. In the class, Haber-Le- high will explain techniques on how to proportionally enlarge drawings, and how to use bilateral symmetry to draw human and mam- mal skulls. She will bring specimens of bird and animal skulls so you can see them in person, and participants are encouraged to bring a favorite photo or book on anatomy for reference. Haber-Lehigh has a Bachelor of Arts from Pacif- ic University with a focus on printmaking and art history. She has designed, illustrated and published the coloring books “ABC of Native Plants of the Coastal Paciic Northwest” and “Native Berries of the Coastal Pacif- ic Northwest.” ASTORIA — Astoria Visual Arts welcomes two local artists, Katie George and Terry Robinett, to work in its two downtown studios rent- free from October through December as part of the AVA artist-in-residence program. George, a Svensen native, focuses on realism and scien- tiic illustration in her work. Although primarily self- taught, George took a hand- ful of art classes while study- ing at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. It was during her undergraduate years, as a student of biochemistry and molecular biology, that she became interested in scientif- ic illustration. She was awarded a research grant to travel to Yasuní National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon to create illustrations of local me- dicinal plants. The series of drawings that resulted were displayed at the College’s Watzek Library in 2014 and helped raise awareness of the deforestation and oil ex- traction occurring in Yasuní. Since creating these illustra- tions, George has changed her primary medium to pyrography (wood burning), although she also works in watercolor, oil, pen and ink, graphite, charcoal, pottery and sculpture. “Creating art has been a part of me since I can re- member,” says George. “As a biochemistry molecular bi- ologist, I now look through a scientiic lens when creating art. By using natural matter such as wood and plants, I aim to capture the intricacies the natural world has to offer and remind the viewer of the importance of conservation, of the treasures of the natural world, and of what remains to be discovered. I am very excited to experiment with different media during this residency and to be able to dedicate three solid months to my true passion, art.” Terry Robinett spent her childhood in a suburb of Bos- SUBMITTED PHOTO “Humpback,” a burning on wood inished with mineral oil by Katie George. SUBMITTED PHOTO “Untitled,” a mixed-media piece by Terry Robinett. SUBMITTED PHOTO SUBMITTED PHOTO Katie George is a biochemis- try molecular biologist who focuses on scientiic illustra- tion with natural materials. Terry Robinett, who owns and operates Merry Time Bar & Grill with her husband, will focus on mixed-media art. ton and her teen years in a small town on the Suwannee River in North Florida. She now lives in Astoria with her husband, dog and three cats. As a child, Robinett found great pleasure in drawing and writing stories, usually about horses or bugs or monsters, which she illustrated and sta- pled together as little books. As she transitioned to living in the South, she found her place working on high school yearbooks and newspapers for which she did artwork, designed layouts and wrote copy. In 1991, she traveled West on a Greyhound bus to house-sit for an older sister and promptly fell in love with Oregon. Robinett attended Portland State University, studying ine arts and painting under mod- ern artist Mel Katz. By 1996 she was a founding member of the Hawthorne Arts Guild and Gallery in Portland and a partner with Portland’s Brod- erick Gallery. She served as the art director of the all-fe- male Fire Festival in 1997 and showed her paintings at alternative spaces around Portland. Robinett also has worked creatively in ilm and theater, which included stints of directing, performing and stagecraft. She moved to As- toria with her husband, Todd, in 2014 and, once settled, recovered long-held interests in a variety of arts media. The Robinetts own and operate the Merry Time Bar & Grill in Astoria. “My husband and I moved to Astoria as a way to con- nect to the things that mat- tered most to us: nature, com- munity and a more simpliied life lived with intent. For me, that means making more art,” says Robinett. “Despite the challenges of working in the corner of a room of a house with four pets who shed (a lot), Astoria deinitely has reinvigorated my muse. I welcome the opportunity the residency provides to create more mixed-media pieces without distraction, along with the opportunity to meet and talk with local artists, as well as opening the studio to visitors.” AVA a-i-r is designed to encourage the creative, intellectual and professional growth of emerging art- ists. While no exhibition, publication or performance is required of the selected artists, community respon- sibility includes at least two weekend open studio events before the end of each AVA a-i-r session. Finalists (currently limited to locally based artists) are chosen in a blind selection process on the basis of artistic merit by an independent panel of established working artists and arts patrons. AVA a-i-r is supported by members of Astoria Visual Arts as well as by local businesses such as Albatross & Co., Asto- ria Coffeehouse & Bistro, Astoria Co-op Grocery, City Lumber Co., Dots ‘N Doo- dles Art Supplies, and Fort George Brewery. AVA was founded in 1989 as a nonproit membership organization to enhance, strengthen and promote the arts in the greater Astoria area. For more information about AVA or to support or learn more about the AVA a-i-r program visit astoriavi- sualarts.org
