B4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018
NEWS
Hat Rock artist puts abstract spin on nature
Hat Rock artist develops
an international following
with fresh look at nature
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
Jean Christofori Howton
sees beauty everywhere.
“Cabbages are wonderful
to paint and draw,” she said,
holding up a small painting
layered in every shade of
green imaginable. “They’re
drowning in deep shadows.”
She slid the cabbage
painting into a blank section
of wall underneath a draw-
ing of sheep, testing the
fit. She was working last-
Wednesday afternoon —
as she was every day that
week — to transform her
home into the Hat Rock Art
Gallery ahead of an open
house she was planning for
Saturday.
The house’s architec-
ture already has an art gal-
lery vibe. Visitors walking
through the front door are
greeted by a mirrored wall
underneath a spacious loft
with vaulted ceilings. Nat-
ural lighting filters through
skylights and tall windows
with views of the Columbia
River.
Most noticeable is the art
covering every wall. In the
kitchen, it’s black and white
pencil drawings of llamas
and chickens. Upstairs,
large abstract paintings
present swirling mixes of
rich color in the loft, while
the “skywalk” connected to
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Artist Jean Cristofori Howton holds up a print of one of her original pencil drawings at her home Wednesday in Hat Rock.
the loft features oil paint-
ings of planets in purple and
blue.
On Wednesday, there
were still some blank spaces
to be filled with the paint-
ings stretched across the car-
pet of the loft. Howton said
she pulled much of the art-
work from every nook and
cranny of her house, where
it has been stashed for years,
but she was also working on
some new pieces that would
be available at the open
house.
“I had so many pieces
of art tucked away every-
where, I’m getting every-
thing uncluttered,” she said.
Howton said she feels
she was born an artist.
She remembers how much
she loved finger painting
during her earliest school
years, and after that she was
always “scribbling” some-
thing. Her art matured as
she did, and in college she
took plenty of art classes in
various mediums.
She fell in love, got mar-
ried and raised a family, but
she never stopped drawing
and painting.
“It just kept creeping
along, and finally it was on a
level that was professional,”
she said.
Howton has shown her
work at galleries in the
Pacific Northwest and in
Europe. Posters from her
French openings can be
seen around the house.
She and her husband
bought their Hat Rock home
in 1986, but he died only
seven years later. After-
ward, Howton decided
to head to France with a
friend who was from there,
and she stayed 10 years in
Normandy.
She loved the French art
scene.
“They are very enthralled
with artwork,” she said.
The French countryside
was an inspiration for much
of her representational art,
which often features rolling
pastures of cows or herds of
sheep. She is also fascinated
by llamas.
“They’re such strange
creatures,” she said.
Even the cabbage comes
from France, where large,
colorful, fresh produce was
abundant.
“Vegetable
shopping
in France was absolutely
amazing,” she said.
Her abstract art is rooted
in the natural world as
well. A painting with yel-
low shapes is titled “Bug
Wings,” while one in beige
and black is titled “Wren’s
First Nest.”
Howton finds inspira-
tion in walks around the Hat
Rock area and paints in her
loft, using wooden boards as
palettes. After the boards are
filled with layers of color,
she cuts them up into their
own unique pieces of art.
On Saturday, all of How-
ton’s art was on display at
her Hat Rock Art Gallery.
She called it Le Crecendo,
or “The Grand Sale,” and
welcomed prospective buy-
ers. Photos of her work and
other information about
her past exhibitions can be
found online at www.jean-
creates.com.
Umatilla, Morrow counties look at joint transit plan
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
Mass transit is big-city
fixture, but rural ride-shar-
ing could soon be making a
surge in Eastern Oregon.
Morrow and Umatilla
county commissioners held a
joint meeting Oct. 10 to hear
a presentation about tran-
sit strategies for the region,
which looked at the needs in
each county for getting peo-
ple to work, and some pos-
sible shuttle services that the
counties could implement.
Commissioners from both
boards said they will likely
approve the plan at meetings
later this month.
The Portland planning
firm Kittleson and Associ-
ates spent about two years
collecting data to complete
the transit study, which
included a breakdown of
how many people work
in each county, the major
employers in each, the per-
centage of people that live
and work in the same county
versus those that commute,
and the public transportation
options currently available in
each county.
The bulk of the report,
which is available on both
counties’ websites, was
devoted to identifying sev-
eral transit strategies to tar-
get the region’s current
needs, along with each strat-
egy’s priority level and a
time frame in which it could
be implemented (near-term
or long-term). Five potential
new bus or shuttle services
were identified, as well as
two that would modify exist-
ing services. The services
included four high-priority
projects: transit from Board-
E-Z
man to Hermiston, from
Pendleton to Kennewick,
from Heppner to Board-
man, and a shuttle within the
Port of Morrow. The report
also included a strategy for
a shuttle from Arlington to
Boardman, ranked as a medi-
um-level priority.
The report also offered
plans to modify existing ser-
vices between Grant County
and Pendleton, using the
existing transit service,
Grant County People Mover.
Principal planner Matt
Hughart noted that statewide,
8 percent of households have
zero cars. The same is true
for Umatilla County, and in
Morrow County, only 3 per-
cent of households have no
access to a vehicle.
Hughart also broke down
the numbers of people that
travel between counties to
get to work.
Only 37 percent of Mor-
row County’s workforce
lives there, with about 28
percent commuting from
Umatilla County.
Sixty-six percent of
Umatilla County’s work-
force lives in the county
but, as Hughart noted, peo-
ple frequently travel across
the county to get to work.
Hughart said the strategies
address all targeted areas
where there is a significant
need, and that would serve
the largest number of house-
holds and workforce.
According to the study,
all of the strategies could
be implemented by exist-
ing transit companies, such
as The Loop in Morrow
County or Kayak in Umatilla
County.
Although the report laid
out several specific tran-
sit strategies that the two
counties could implement,
Hughart said none of the
details are set in stone.
He added that while plans
could be implemented sep-
arately, they would be most
beneficial to the region if
they function as pieces of
one larger system.
“They really should be
considered as layers — all
implemented one on top of
the other,” he said.
The report included cost
estimates to implement all
the strategies. Hughart noted
that the cost to implement the
Boardman-Hermiston shut-
tle was on the higher side
— $250,000 to $300,000 —
but would likely be the most
utilized.
The funds would come
from some statewide pay-
roll taxes: the Statewide
Transportation Improvement
Fund (STIF), and the Special
Transportation Fund.
Morrow County Plan-
ning Director Carla McLane
said though both commis-
sions may approve the plan
this month, it may take some
time to start implementing
the strategies.
“I think the real question
is, how much money is actu-
ally being collected through
the tax program, and how
much is going back to the
local communities?” She
said. “And which projects
will we prioritize?”
McLane said there are
STIF Advisory Committees
in both Umatilla and Morrow
counties that will make rec-
ommendations to the boards
of commissioners about
which projects are most rel-
evant to the area. Though the
strategies have been formu-
lated for both counties, each
county will approve the plan
separately, and can make
changes to it individually.
The report also suggested
setting up park-and-ride
areas, which would allow
people in rural areas to com-
mute to a more central loca-
tion in their own vehicles,
and then take public tran-
sit to work. Though it iden-
tified park-and-ride areas as
lower priority projects, Uma-
tilla County Commissioner
George Murdock said such
areas could be beneficial to
the region.
“It’’s about education and
habit,” he said. “We don’t
live in an area that embraces
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anything other than driving
your own vehicle — I don’t
think people think about that.
So I appreciate the inclusion
of park-and-ride.”
To collect commut-
ing data, the firm surveyed
businesses in Umatilla and
Morrow counties, asking
employers about the number
of full-time employees at the
company, the hours of oper-
ation, whether the company
offers any type of ride-shar-
ing program and if they think
employees would utilize
such a service. Twenty-seven
businesses and groups from
both counties participated
in the survey, including
many of the largest employ-
ers: Hermiston and Pendle-
ton school districts, Good
Shepherd Medical Center,
St. Anthony Hospital, Blue
Mountain Community Col-
lege, Wildhorse Resort and
Casino, and Port of Morrow
Warehousing.
Employers
were surveyed, but individ-
ual employees did not pro-
vide information.
Umatilla County Com-
missioner Bill Elfering said
while he thinks the plan
is a good start, the second
component is growing the
workforce.
“I think this may help, but
will it create a new worker? I
don’t know,” he said.
Commissioners from both
boards said they were happy
with the increased inter-
county collaboration.
“I think it’s our third joint
meeting, and I look for-
ward to more,” said Mor-
row County Commissioner
Melissa Lindsay.
Re-elect
LORI DAVIS
For City Council
• Genuine • Authentic
• Experienced • Hometown Proud
“For the past 8 years, I have been part
of the growth and development in
Hermiston, Oregon. We are now the
largest town in Umatilla County.”
Please
Vote On:
NOV. 6, 2018!
“Make Life
Sweeter”