8 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
NEW BEGINNINGS
AT STORMY WEATHER ARTS FESTIVAL
By BRENNA VISSER
COAST WEEKEND
F
or three decades, the Stormy
Weather Arts Festival has
been a community staple for
some of the region’s longstanding
artists. But this year, the event will
also mark new beginnings.
The festival, now in its 31st
year, will feature musical showcas-
es, the Dancing in the Rain Fashion
Show with local and national de-
signer labels, and a series of open
houses at various galleries to meet
artists to discuss their creations
Friday through Sunday, Nov. 2
through 4.
For most artists, the weekend
is an opportunity to show the
fruits that come from a lifetime of
creating. But for Stirling Gorsuch,
his first foray into the arts festival
will be a chance to showcase an
entirely new medium.
Born and raised in Cannon
Beach, the young artist is best
known for his printmaking work,
often inspired by the rugged, wild-
fire-torn hills of Eastern Oregon
or by his jogs on the beach and
through Oregon Coast landmarks
like Oswald West and Ecola State
Park.
Part of the intrigue, Gorsuch
said, is that these landscapes em-
body the phenomenon of change
and transformation.
“I’m always trying to find new
vistas,” Gorsuch said. “A lot of
photographs I use from these —
secret trails, let’s say — serve as
inspiration. Both — the wildfires
and the coast — show the transfor-
mation that you see in the natural
world.”
But this time, the transformation
is a personal one. After years of
watching his father do oil paintings
for years, Gorsuch decided to give
COURTESY STIRLING GORSUCH
‘Between the Tides,’ an oil painting artist Stirling Gorsuch
will feature at Stormy Weather Arts Festival.
the brush a try.
“It was more of a challenge than
I thought,” he said. “I thought I’d
have a leg up with a printmaking
background, but at the same time
it’s a different animal completely.”
After years of visiting Stormy
Weather as a spectator growing up,
this will be Gorsuch’s first time
showing as an artist for the festi-
val. In some ways, the experience
feels surreal. But in others, it feels
nostalgic.
“Most people know winter is
my favorite season. I love the
stormy weather … it’s my most
creative time,” he said. “For
me, my inspiration is always in
between storms, in the calmer
times.”