THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2019 // 3
SCRATCHPAD
Celebrating Andie Sterling’s ‘Ehkahnam’ mural, public art in Astoria
W
e are in a golden
age of public art
in Astoria.
Public art can dramat-
ically change the ethos of
a city. It can brighten up
spaces, cause people to dis-
cuss the work and think
about how art connects a
community.
Andie Sterling’s mural
along the 13th Street Alley-
way, titled ‘Ehkahnam,’ the
Chinookian word for story,
does just that.
The mural is bright with
sweeping blues, greens, pur-
ple and orange lines that all
connect.
It is an abstract landscape
that focuses on the differ-
ent types of landscapes in
Astoria. It features lines that
swoop and bend, steep hills
and mountains and trees that
dot the vistas.
The mural’s colors radi-
ate with a hopeful and light
energy. It also has darker
blues and greens that remind
viewers of the waters that
surround our port city and
what Astoria is like during
the rainy months.
The mural spans the
entire alleyway and took
coast
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
weekend
arts & entertainment
ON THE COVER
Cast members
in the Penin-
sula Players
production of
Noel Coward’s
“Blithe Spirit.”
PHOTO BY
PATRICK WEBB
See story on Page 8
4
7
8
THE ARTS
‘Making Waves’ art exhibit
Exploring the multifaceted ocean in Seaside
COASTAL LIFE
35 years of Sandsations
Watch, sculpt sand art
FEATURE
‘Blithe Spirit’
A clairvoyant comedy
FURTHER ENJOYMENT
MUSIC CALENDAR .....................5
CROSSWORD ...............................6
SEE + DO ............................. 10, 11
DINING ........................................ 12
CW MARKETPLACE................. 15
Find it all online!
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Andie Sterling recently fi nished her mural ‘Ehkahnam,’
the Chinookan word for story, in the 13th Street Alley in
downtown Astoria.
three weeks for Sterling and
local artists Darren Orange,
Stirling Gorsuch and Anna
COAST WEEKEND EDITOR
JONATHAN WILLIAMS
CALENDAR COORDINATOR
BREE ELLIOTT
Weber, who helped Sterling,
to complete.
Take your time observing
the mural and thinking about
how it connects and refl ects
our community. It grows in
richness and dynamic power
each time you see it.
The project cost $12,500
to fund. It is a worthy and
vital project and one that
should spur more like it.
Public art can transform
cities and show residents the
multifaceted cultures, his-
tory and traditions that con-
nect and unite a city.
Public art can take a vari-
ety of forms: a mural, sculp-
ture, painting, multimedia
and installation art.
Local artists are fortu-
nate to have a rich history
and landscape to draw from
which is seen in many of the
city’s parks.
Soon, the Astoria Nordic
Heritage Park will join the
Garden of Surging Waves
as another example of how
art can refl ect a city’s cul-
ture and its people once it
secures the remainder of the
funding needed for the park.
Celebrating 125 years
this summer, the Astoria
Regatta Festival is accepting
proposals through Aug. 2 for
a public waterfront monu-
ment. The project has a bud-
get of $20,000. The propos-
als will be judged on artistic
quality and an aesthetic sen-
sibility related to Astoria.
Keep funding public art.
It can show how our city
has reinvented itself while
staying true to the cultures
and traditions it is known
for.
It brightens up spaces that
were once dark, gets peo-
ple outside and into urban
spaces, contributing to the
local economy, and reminds
us of what art can do to con-
nect and refl ect a city. CW
CONTRIBUTORS
KATHERINE LACAZE
BARBARA LLOYD McMICHAEL
PATRICK WEBB
LUKE WHITTAKER
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