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Thursday, May 6, 2021
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
Quick Takes: Events around Eastern Oregon
Two authors plan book
signing for May 15
Go Wild planning
photography workshop
BAKER CITY — Local authors
S.D. Howard and Carly Newberg
will have a book signing and talk
on Saturday, May 15, from 4 p.m.
to 6 p.m. at Royal Artisan, 1912
Main St.
The two will talk about their
publishing experience and why
they decided to tackle hard topics
in their books.
At the end, there will be a give-
away for a free signed book and
book merchandise.
BAKER CITY — Go Wild is of-
fering a weekend outdoor photogra-
phy workshop May 14-16.
Hosted by Go Wild and profes-
sional nature photographer Clay
Berthelsen, “Photography in the
Wild” is an intensive weekend of
photographic exploration in the
wilds of Eastern Oregon. From Fri-
day through Sunday, participants
will be in the fi eld shooting photos
with the help of Berthelsen. Short
classroom sessions enhance the
hands-on learning in the outdoors.
The trip begins and ends in Bak-
er City. Registration is $389 and
includes a meet-and-greet cocktail
evening, gourmet meal prep and
service, adventure and hiking
equipment, pre-tour planning and
logistics, access to some of the best
local photography spots, more than
20 professional trip photographs
and an after-party at Copper Belt
Winery.
For more information and to
register, go to www.gowildusa.
com/oregonphotographywork-
shop or www.facebook. com/
events/434502997929654.
Digital artists unveil
’Mimesis’ show
LA GRANDE — Two digital
artists, Alexis Maki and Spencer
Marotto, recently unveiled “Mime-
sis,” their capstone projects at the
Nightingale Gallery in Loso Hall
at Eastern Oregon University. The
exhibit will run until May 12 with
limited showing to the public.
Marotto’s work, which resembles
early home personal computers,
is more literary in its critiques
while Maki’s fantastical landscapes
marry together terror and wonder.
“A lot of my work specifi cally
deals with response to how we’ve
currently been living,” Marotto
said, “especially with the pan-
demic.”
Marotto’s collages blend nostal-
gia with antiquity — canvases of
Windows 98 desktops splattered
with messages and Greek statues,
computer programs and familiar
software glitches.
“There’s a lot of seriousness in
my work, but there’s a comedic part
too,” said Marotto.
Marotto spent a considerable
amount of time researching Greek
history to build cohesive narratives
within the pieces.
“If you asked me about (Greek)
mythology, I would have told you
I’d have to look at the Wikipedia
page,” he said.
Collage by Spencer Marotto
Digital artists Spencer Marotto (work shown above) and Alexis Maki
unveiled their show “Mimesis” at the Nightingale Gallery at EOU.
Maki, who started her art career
as a painter, deals more with
concrete elements of pollution and
beauty — two elements she said
can exist together. Her favorite
piece, “Urban Mountain,” is a
cityscape with brilliant night lights
above a refl ection of a mountain,
a motif that speaks to how urban-
ization comes at a cost to nature.
But the artist noted both can be
beautiful.
Maki’s pieces took upward of 50
hours to make, she said, owing to
her relatively new experience with
the digital art workfl ow. Before
starting this project, she was not
well versed with Photoshop.
“I struggled at fi rst, but I got it
over time,” Maki said. “I wouldn’t
say I’m an expert at Photoshop, but
over time, experimenting, I was
able to fi nd my way around it.”
Maki credited her peers and
instructors for helping her with the
program’s steep learning curve.
For more about the Nightingale
Gallery and “Mimesis,” visit www.
eou.edu/art/nightingale- gallery/
exhibitions.
Indoor yard sale benefi ts
less fortunate
LA GRANDE — Abundant Life
Transitional Services — a local
nonprofi t that seeks to improve
the quality of life for people who
are unemployed or underem-
ployed and/or homeless or living in
substandard housing — is hosting
an indoor yard sale Friday and
Saturday, May 7-8, at Mountain
Life Church, 10700 S. Walton Road,
La Grande. The sale will run from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day (no early-
bird entry). Proceeds support new
programs by Abundant Life Tran-
sitional, such as laundry money for
people who need it.
Wood whittling class set
for May 15 in Joseph
JOSEPH— Ralph Anderson will
share his talent for whittling in a
class from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Satur-
day, May 15 at the Josephy Center
for Arts and Culture.
Participants will create their own
unique honey drizzlers and — if
the weather is nice — they will sit
outside for the class.
Participants are urged to bring
a chair, appropriate protection
from the sun, lunch, a sharp whit-
tling knife, and a stick (preferably
hardwood) with which to make the
drizzler.
No experience is necessary. Class
fee is $30. Preregistration required
by Wednesday, May 12.
If you don’t have a knife, stop
by the Sports Corral in Joseph,
Wallowa County Grain Growers in
Enterprise or check out this link:
http://woodcarvingillustrated.com/
blog/2017/05/03/choosing-a-whit-
tling-knife/
Masks are required indoors.
UPGRADE
215 Elm Street La Gande • (541) 963-5440
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