Photos by Patrick Webb
ABOVE: Ceramic items wait on a table for the next stage in a fi ring process that uses heat to transform clay onto decorative or usable items. The sign at right is one of many that will direct visitors
to open studios on the Long Beach Peninsula. INSET: Ceramicist Karen Brownlee will participate in Peninsula Arts Association’s upcoming series of summer studio tours.
Continued from Page 8
with plans for a psychology career, but
instead turned to art. Classes at Clatsop
Community College in Astoria taught her
calligraphy, basket-making and ceramics.
The latter proved to be her forte.
“It was my escape. I wanted something
for me,” she said, recalling her satisfac-
tion with three-dimensional functional art.
“When you make something out of mud,
and it gets made and it is fi red, and you can
drink your tea out of it, it’s like. ‘Oh, my
gosh!’ It is so exhilarating to me — that
was the best feeling in the world.”
Brownlee has invested in a kiln that fi res
clay pots and other items in temperatures
that reach up to 2200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Her work is on sale at BOLD Coff ee,
Art & Framing in Long Beach, as well as
at Columbia Pacifi c Heritage Museum in
Ilwaco. Classes and demonstrations, like
the upcoming tours, help share her philoso-
phy that owning a one-of-a-kind, handmade
item like a coff ee mug is accessible.
“I like to show people that I do make
everything by hand,” she said. “People
think that machines do it. But there is a lot
of education around what goes into doing it
— by hand, from scratch.”
Treasures
A new venue at the Port of Nahcotta will
host nearly a dozen artists in connection
with the summer studio tours. Displayed
work ranges from Brenda Sharkey’s mixed
media paintings and ornaments to JoAnne
Webster’s miniatures and dolls.
“You’ll fi nd treasures tucked away in
studios and galleries from Ilwaco to Surf-
side — just follow the signs,” Krause said.
Her own studio, located in Ocean Park,
will show paintings, prints and shirts. Other
Ocean Park participants are Don Perry,
showing metal art; Cathy Hamilton, with
seashell art and Greg Gorham, showing
acrylic, oil and linoleum print paintings.
In Seaview, Catherine Clark will show
her impressionistic and pastel paintings.
The Old Train Depot will showcase fi ber
arts from Rita Brown on Friday. Vicki and
Michael Sullivan will show fi sh, mush-
rooms and jewelry while Steph Day will
present jewelry, candles, art and photos.
Marie Powell, Penny Treat and Don
Nisbett, three artists with neighboring gal-
leries overlooking the Ilwaco waterfront,
will also participate. BOLD Coff ee, Art &
Framing in Long Beach and the Bay Ave-
nue Gallery in Ocean Park are also active
supporters.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022 // 9