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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2018)
16 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Artist talk explores ‘visceral’ new show Crossing Clatsop CANNON BEACH — Chris- topher Mathie, of Wash- ington, whose exhibition “Seeking Balance” is on display at Cannon Beach’s White Bird Gallery, will give an artist talk at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15. A reception takes place 4 to 6 p.m. The studio had always been a personal refuge for Mathie, a place he painted by and for himself. But after 20-plus years as a professional artist, he began feeling he’d hit a creative wall. He broke through by inviting others in. The watershed moment came in the creation of a piece titled “A Strong Man,” inspired by a friend of Mathie’s in the midst of Stage 4 cancer. “He’s this incredibly re- silient person,” Mathie said The Illahee Apartments Downtown Astoria’s Most Respected Apartment Complex Since 1969. 1046 Grand Avenue Astoria, OR 97103 503-325-2280 of his friend. “He’s upbeat. His attitude is incredible.” Mathie invited his friend into the studio to explore that resilience. “He came and sat with me and we talked and talked and talked,” Mathie remembered. “And I was taking notes, but directly on the canvas. He would say something, and I would scribble.” Mathie wasn’t just transcribing what his friend said but how it made him feel. “More than an inter- view,” Mathie said, “it was a dialogue.” And then he started painting — on the same canvas where he’d scribbled the notes. Some of that text remains visible. Along with direct outside inspiration, writing on the canvas was another first for Mathie. Suddenly his process had evolved. The creative flood- gates re-opened. “Bringing people into the studio and interviewing them, I was bringing new energy and integrating their stories into my stories,” Mathie said. Mathie used the dialogue method for another piece in response to an ailing friend. “I had this feeling what we were doing was healing each other,” Mathie said. “Her pain and my pain were being addressed at the same time.” “I realized what I was painting wasn’t just about her, and not just about me,” in the 1800s COURTESY WHITE BIRD GALLERY Christopher Mathie’s ‘We’re Here to Heal Each Other.’ he added. “Pain and healing are universal. These would have a broader reach.” These pieces form the center and the spark of “Seeking Balance.” Mathie’s talk will delve deeper into the methods and stories that revitalized his work. “‘We’re Here to Heal Each Other,’” Mathie said, “is a piece that combines all my skills: subject, color theory, balance, abstraction, symbols, emotion. Every- thing I’ve amassed in my Fall Festival Saturday, September 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Silent auctions for Cannon Beach hotel stays Gift certificate drawings for Cannon Beach shops Homemade crafts & baked goods sale, 10-5, Sept. 29 Cannon Beach Library 131 N. Hemlock, Cannon Beach (503-436-1391) Place bids & buy drawing tickets at library, Sept.1-29 toolbox is in this piece.” But really, “Seeking Balance” is about an am- plification of connection in Mathie’s work. “It became more visceral,” Mathie said. “This body of work was coming more from my gut, more from my heart, than ever before.” White Bird Gallery is located at 251 N. Hem- lock St. For more info, visit whitebirdgallery.com or call 503-436-2681. U-Pic k 100% Natural Blueberrie s Open Daily ‘til 6 pm $2.00 lb. Cranguyma Farms 113th & Sandridge N. Long Beach, WA FORT CLATSOP — Author Jerry Sutherland returns to Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Fort Clat- sop, for the park’s next “In Their Footsteps” event. At 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, Sutherland will present “Crossing Clatsop in the 1800s.” After building Fort Clatsop on the west bank of the Lewis and Clark River in December 1805, William Clark and his salt-craving men blazed a trail across Clatsop to the ocean in search of a good place to boil sea water — a trip commemorated by the Fort to Sea Trail in 2005. In the process of deter- mining the trail’s original route and its relationship to modern Perkins Lane, Sutherland learned of involvements by Clatsop Indians as well as summer vacationers taking wagons to Seaside after arriving at Clatsop Landing on stern- wheelers. He was fascinated that the Neacoxie River’s 1806 outlet into the sea, filled in soon after that by sand and diverted to the Necanicum River, had been pinpointed by geologists in 2004. Sutherland will share all this using images of maps and original manuscripts. He will sign copies of his book and answer questions after the presentation. Sutherland first re- searched early Clatsop transportation routes while writing “Calvin Tibbets: Oregon’s First Pioneer” (2016). Other upcoming “In Their Footsteps” speaker series programs include: • Oct. 21: “Altho’ no regular botanist” — Jeffer- son’s Reference to Lewis by Carol Lucas • Nov. 18: “John Colter, ‘Calvin Tibbets: Oregon’s First Pioneer’ by Jerry Sutherland. COURTESY COLUMBIA RIVER MARI- TIME MUSEUM Author Jerry Sutherland. Servant of the Corps” by Christopher Hodges • Dec. 16: “Let’s Talk about Hummingbirds” by Barbara Linnett • Jan. 20: “Historic Winter Transportation” by Richard Brenne This forum, taking place the third Sunday of the month, is sponsored by the park and Lewis & Clark National Park Association. These programs are held in the Netul River Room of Fort Clatsop’s visitor center and are free of charge. For more information, call the park at 503-861- 2471, or check out nps.gov/ lewi or Lewis and Clark National Historical Park on Facebook.
