OCTOBER 12, 2017 // 23
BONNY GORSUCH ELEVATES ‘JUNK’
Self-taught artist
salvages thrown-
away objects for
new exhibition
By PATTY HARDIN
FOR COAST WEEKEND
L
ocal artist Bonny
Gorsuch is preparing
artwork for a joint
project between Recology
Western Oregon and Astoria
Visual Arts.
Gorsuch plans to have 15
pieces ready for an exhibi-
tion that begins Saturday,
Oct. 14, at Astoria Vintage
Hardware.
For the show, Gorsuch
went to the Recology trans-
fer center station at least 30
times over a three-month
period, picking out objects
she could use.
Over the next few weeks,
Gorsuch began her work in
earnest, laying out pieces
of her found treasures until
things began to click into
place, and gave new life to
discarded objects.
“Bonny spent months
elbow and knee deep at the
Recology transfer center,
followed by sorting, rivet-
ing, soldering and painting
her fi nds at Recology’s
on-site studio,” Lisa Smith,
board president of Astoria
Visual Arts, wrote. “She has
elevated cast-offs, debris,
rubbish and assorted detritus
— whatever you want to call
it — into eminently collect-
ible pieces of art,” Smith
continued. “Thus, the title of
her show: ‘Junk, Elevated.’”
Leaving the comfort
zone
Gorsuch said it was a
“natural fi t” to have the
showing at Astoria Vintage
Hardware.
“I already sell my Wear-
able Art there and have a
great relationship with own-
er Becky Johnson,” she said.
A Bonny Gorsuch creation
The ‘real deal’
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Bonny Gorsuch
MORE INFO
What: Artist’s Reception and Exhibition
When: 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, with artist-led gal-
lery walk-through at 6 p.m.
The show will be kept up indefi nitely. Additional View-
ing Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday;
noon to 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Vintage Hardware (1162 Marine Drive, Astoria)
Admission is free and open to the public
“They ‘elevate junk’ just as I
have done for the upcoming
exhibit.”
But unlike the items of
clothing Gorsuch makes —
items that can be used only
by people who fi t them —
everybody can use the art in
“Junk, Elevated,” she said.
The project has totally
pulled Gorsuch out of her
comfort zone. “I usually
design garments,” she said.
“My husband paints; our
sons paint. Me? I feel very
uncomfortable painting, so
I do just enough painting to
add color to these pieces.”
Gorsuch gestured to her
works in progress, such as
“Trusting Heart,” which has
just enough red to make the
piece pop. She really likes
the fi gurative (i.e., life):
people, animals, birds.
Material gathered at a
transfer station is most often
in need of cleaning, but Gor-
such said she did a minimal
amount, “just enough to
remove surface dirt. I don’t
want to ruin the patina,” she
said.
If this patina, in the form
of dull brass or copper,
for example, is polished
away, the whole character
of the piece in question
can change. In some cases,
cleaning a piece of art can
actually have a negative
effect.
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Gorsuch is a self-taught
artist. “This is quite typi-
cal of a folk artist, which I
consider myself,” she said.
“Also typical of such an art-
ist: My materials are found
easily and readily at hand.”
She likes to tell a story.
Twenty-fi ve years ago her
house in Eugene was being
re-roofed. She picked some
of the old discarded shingles
and added various bits and
pieces to them. The tiles
became art materials.
“This was the fi rst time I
did ‘serious’ art,” she said.
“People paid $5 each for
these shingles, so I guess
that made me an artist.”
“Bonny Gorsuch is the
real deal, a true artist,”
Smith said. “She has a
fabulous eye, an exceptional
wit, and an indefatigable
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spirit — and all that comes
through in her work.”
Gorsuch and her husband,
Richard, live in Cannon
Beach. They have two sons,
Colour and Stirling. CW
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