December 4, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 9A
Q: How many pieces would you
5 Minutes with…
say you’ve made over the years?
Eric Jensen
Portland artist Eric Jensen’s work can be found hanging in Morris’ Fireside
Restaurant in Cannon Beach. Much of it is wood-based and all done by hand,
but Jensen is experienced in a variety of mediums. He studied sculpture under
a master in Bali and taught sculpture himself at Portland Community College.
He’s also taught art to at-risk youth. He’s done work for a wide range of clients,
including a stone piece for the Chinook Indian Nation and a wood carving for
the Oregon Musueum of Science and Industry. And he’s available for requests.
Jensen works from a studio in his houseboat, but those interested in seeing his
art can take a gander and fi nd his contact information at ericjensenart.com.
By Dani Palmer
Cannon Beach Gazette
Q: Tell me a little bit about your
background. How’d you get started
with art?
A: I was always interested in art.
I was very ill when I was small
and so my father encouraged me
to draw. It just kind of grew over
the years.
Q: What sort of art do you do?
A: I’m all over the place. I did
the halibut in Morris’ Fireside
Restaurant. I work in various me-
dia. Wood, ceramic, synthetics.
Anything and everything.
Q: When did you get involved
with Morris’ Fireside Restaurant in
Cannon Beach?
A: I think it was 2001. I had made
the crab on the other side of the
chimney here and I had it in the
back of my van. I stopped by and
spoke with Mr. Morris and he
bought it right out of the van. I’ve
done four things for him. He’s
great to work with.
A: Oh golly. There’s probably
44 images here in my portfolio
and this is maybe half of them.
Q: Are there any particular themes
you enjoy working with?
A: 1ot speci¿ cally. Although I
get a lot of orders for animals,
especially pets. I did a series of
dogs hanging out of car win-
dows in ceramic and people just
loved it. Some were portraits of
their dogs and some were just
your basic German shepherd or
weeny dog or whatever. I like
abstract, I like ¿ gurative. I’ve
always tried to diversify. I’ve
mixed media. I did a sign with
three different woods for a hair
salon in Eugene. The hair was
red cedar because the model
was a redhead — the wife of
the owner of the salon. And like
many redheads, her skin was
fair, so I made the face out of
ash. I work in a lot of media,
though, not just wood.
Q: What sort of clients have
you had? It sounds like you’ve
DANI PALMER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Eric Jensen stands beneath one of his creations, the halibut, in Morris’
Fireside Restaurant.
had everyday people for the pet
projects and groups like the tribe
for others.
A: I’ve done work with both the
Chinook Tribe and the Warm
Springs Indian Reservation. I’ve
done museum work. My artwork
usually gets around by word of
mouth. These days, I’m trying to
appeal to architects.
Seasons Cafe
A humble, hidden delight in downtown Cannon Beach
In this FEMA fl ood plain map draft , Cannon Beach’s
downtown area would be removed from the fl ood plain.
Maps to show fl ood risks
Maps from Page 1A
Community member
Bruce Francis urged the
council to move quickly on
adopting a Letter of Map
Revision request during an
October meeting “so citi-
zens can take advantage of
the lowered rates.”
Mixed results
1ot all will see bene¿ ts,
however.
Those along the water-
front would likely see a 50-
50 split — some insurance
rates would rise and others
would lower or remain the
same.
Oceanfront homes are
most affected by veloc-
ity À ooding, caused by
storm surges, as opposed
to downtown À ooding,
which would come from
overÀ ows in storm drains.
The maps show new po-
tential risks from velocity
À ooding that could nega-
tively impact homes near
the beach.
Overall, Barnes said
the map changes would be
“overwhelmingly good”
for Cannon Beach.
FEMA’s adoption pro-
cess should be complete in
about six months, the time
it would have taken to re-
ceive approval for the letter
of map revision request.
Cannon Beach will go
through a local adoption
process for regulatory pur-
poses once the maps are
FEMA approved, likely in
the spring.
All too easily one could
stroll through downtown Can-
non Beach without noticing
Seasons Cafe. Even right out
front, Seasons doesn’t neces-
sarily shout its existence. (It’s
tucked away, off the main
drag, behind Coastal Yarns
and across from the Cannon
Beach Distillery.) The service
and atmosphere, too, are hum-
ble and rather nonchalant. It’s
only once the food is served
that Seasons speaks up.
The cafe mostly does
lunch, and the bright, airy,
high-ceilinged, pastel-colored
space is be¿ tting of daytime
dining. The lunch menu is
dominated by a vast array
of sandwiches, both hot and
cold, along with wraps, a few
salads, soups and other odds-
and-ends. From the Aussie
Dip (a lamb au jus) to the
Traditional Reuben to the Al-
bacore Tuna & Dill Havarti
there are 25 to choose from.
The gawky, goo¿ ly-endearing
staff pointed me toward the
hot Antipasto sandwich ($10),
which they said is among the
most popular.
It was easy to see why
— even before I took a bite.
Served open-faced, the pre-
sentation was stunning, akin
to a dense, unkempt forest
underbrush. Sticks of Parme-
san dripped in balsamic re-
duction against boldly green
basil and thin strips of ham
over tomatoes, salami and
olive tapenade on a baguette.
It was every bit as enticing
as it was wild. A delightfully
messy dance ensued with ev-
ery ¿ nger-licking bite. Each
contained so many sensations
— salty olives, savory meats,
bittersweet vinegar, fresh veg-
gies, gooey cheese and crisp
crust. The Antipasto truly con-
tained multitudes. And there
were two of them, each tall,
and about ¿ ve inches long,
overÀ owing with the many
components. I can’t recom-
mend it enough. It’s excellent.
Whereas
Seasons
carries a bit
of the infl ated
‘Cannon Beach
price’ at lunch,
dinner was a
comparative
bargain.
Whereas Seasons carries
a bit of the inÀ ated “Cannon
Beach price” at lunch, dinner
was a comparative bargain.
Part of that sliding value prop-
osition, I imagine, is about
operation. Seasons doesn’t
do a whole lot of dinner (it’s
available on weekends only)
and when the restaurant does
it, staff retain a similar relaxed
service vibe as they do in the
afternoon. To be sure: This
Seasons
Cafe
RATING: œ
LOCATION: 255 N.
Hemlock St., Cannon
Beach
PHONE: 503-436-1159
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 4
p.m. Monday, Tuesday
and Thursday; 11 a.m.
to 8 p.m. Friday and
Saturday.
PRICE: $$ – Lunch
entrées hover around
$10. Dinner’s a great
value around $15 to
$20
SERVICE: Gawky, ear-
nest and casual
VEGETARIAN / VEG-
AN OPTIONS: Vegetar-
ians should be in good
hands
DRINKS: Coff ee, tea,
espresso, beer and
wine
THE COASTER THEATRE
PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS
Experience Family Dining
in a Relaxed & Friendly
Environment
Serving Seafood, Pizza,
Sandwiches, Espressos,
Beer, Wine, Ice Cream
and our Homemade
Desserts
102.3 fm
“TO-GO”
Orders Welcome
the Classic Rock Station
isn’t a dig — I found Seasons’
servers charming. But they
are not slick, polished experts.
Still, the intentions are good
and the effort is there, and
that’s what matters most.
The Squid Ink Linguine
with Steam Clams ($17) was
a delightful and refreshing left
turn, not only for the black,
lightly ¿ shy squid ink pasta,
but the yellow curry broth.
That twang of curry is a À a-
vor not found often enough
on the North Coast. Along for
the ride were plenty of clams,
and again, the broth was well
worth mopping up. The dish
is nothing if not a successful
experiment.
From the protein entrées
I tried Grilled Halibut ($21),
which again was a pretty rea-
sonable price for a good-sized
¿ let. 9ery lightly seasoned
with lemon and thyme, the
¿ sh itself was rather dull. But
that’s the nature of halibut; it’s
hardly overwhelming. The
accompanying wild rice med-
ley was also bland, and only
worth eating when mixed
with the ratatouille or the ¿ sh.
I much preferred the pas-
tas. They’re the dishes worth
seeking out at dinner. Along
with that Antipasto sandwich
at lunch. I mean, my good-
ness... Don’t pass it — or Sea-
sons — by.
We have a fabulous patio
where you can enjoy the
weather and your meal.
156 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach
503.436.9551
Owned and Operated by the Cleary Family
Nov. 13 - Dec. 20, 2015
Tickets $23 or $18
Shows begin at 7:30 pm
Sunday shows at 3:00 pm
Talkback Thurs. Dec. 3 rd
Sponsored by
The Clark Family
Tickets: 503-436-1242
or
coastertheatre.com
108 N Hemlock Street
Cannon Beach, OR
BLACK FRIDAY SALES START AT 8 AM - 6 PM
C olum bia M em orial H ospital
2111 E xch ange St., A storia
(503) 325-4321
YOUR LOCALLY OWNED AND
FAMILY OPERATED HOME
ELECTRONICS STORE!
www.colum biam em orial.org
Fo r a $10 d o n a tio n , w e w ill pla ce a ha n d m a d e hea rt o rn a m en t
o n a tree in m em o ry o r ho n o r o f the perso n yo u cho o se.
In
Memory
of
In
Honor
of
Name on ornament:
Send acknowledgment to:
Name and address
1.
2.
3.
TAX DEDUCTIBLE: Make checks payable to Lower Columbia Hospice at Columbia Memorial Hospital.
Please m ark location of the tree you w ish to decorate:
Your name:
Columbia Memorial Hospital, Astoria
Address:
Providence
Seaside Hospital
City/State/Zip:
Bob Chisholm Community Center
M a il fo rm a n d d o n a tio n to :
Hea rts for Hos p ice, c/ o Low er Colu m bia Hos p ice, 2111 Excha n g e S t., A s toria , O reg on 97103
1219 S. Roosevelt Dr. in Seaside • 503-738-8836