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Wi Taepa, Maori artist.
Maori artist Baye Riddell.
Maori artist Carla Ruka.
Maori artist Rhonda Halliday.
Indigenous artists visit Astoria
By DAVID CAMPICHE
FOR COAST WEEKEND
he first couple came to Astoria this
fall from Tasmania, a land far away,
bright-eyed and hair tousled and
intelligent — artist Neil Hoffmann, potter and
sculptor, and his lovely wife, Ann.
And behind them, early in October, came
the Maori, nine artists returning from New
Zealand after a three-year absence.
They have become comrades, friends
and devotees of a bridge between artists and
distant communities — hands reaching across
oceans to reunite with our art community, to
share commonalities.
The Maori reunion began with a bilingual
welcoming at the ancient Chinook cove at
Fort Columbia. The rendezvous was as rich as
the landscape. Tony Johnson of the Chinook
Nation gave the welcoming in the ancient
language of his people. Baye Riddell, a Maori
elder, answered in his own tongue.
Richard Rowland and his wife, Patti,
arranged the visits with help from friends.
Richard is a respected potter known by many
artists in the Pacific Northwest who teaches
at Clatsop Community College. He is a man
of deep passion and skill. Patti stands beside
Richard, as strong a contributor to the arts
community as one can find.
Who else but the Rowlands remain so
committed to opening arms and minds to the
greater community of indigenous artists? Like
T
DAVID CAMPICHE PHOTOS
The Dragon Kiln.
a fastball snagged in the web of a baseball
glove, they corral talent.
The recipients of this love and art are the
residents of the Columbia-Pacific community,
you and me. And maybe the world at large.
How lucky we are!
Richard and Patti are empowered by
a sense of comradeship, drawing a circle
around art and fine craftsmanship and human
relationships. For decades, the couple have
engaged the power of art. They have deliv-
ered it, often funding the rendezvous out of
their own pockets.
The power of art
Stop a second and think about those illu-
minating words: the power of art. After storms
and wars, after earthquakes and pestilence,
what is left is the best of us: our art, architec-
ture, ancient sandstone carvings, 11th century
cathedrals, Giotto’s stucco murals adorning
walls of Italian chapels. And Picasso paintings.
Canvases by Masaccio, Leonardo and Jackson
Pollack. By Matisse and Caravaggio.
Not all have survived. When my wife cre-
ated my Facebook page, we named it “Pottery
Survives.”
Last month a museum in Argentina burned
down to the stone walls. Gone were two mil-
lion artifacts. Buried also was a legacy. One
art historian declared how he wept for two
solid days. Wars! Devastation, human and
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