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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2019)
Friday, September 27, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3 ‘Hum and Swish’ By CARA MICO For Seaside Signal Author and Illustra- tor Matt Myers hosted a meet and greet at Beach Books on Sunday, Sept. 15, for his book “Hum and Swish.” Although he currently lives in North Carolina with his family, Myers has ties to the Pacifi c North- west having attended the Portland Museum Art School, now known as Pacifi c Northwest Col- lege of Art, for design and fi ne art. A large part of Myers’ career was in advertis- ing before he switched to illustration nine years ago and hasn’t looked back. His most recent book is his fi rst with both illustra- tion and author credits. “I was in advertis- ing for 25 years in New York before I was a fi ne art painter, but people weren’t seeing my work,” Myers said. “I’ve illus- trated 30 books, but this is my fi rst book as both an illustrator and author,” said Myers. “Hum and Swish” fol- lows an introverted child through her trip to the ocean. Each page is illustrated with a downsized version of an original oil painting. The protagonist, Jamie, is happily playing in the sand when a variety of beach goers bombard her with questions like “what are you making” and “what is it going to be,” to which she answers “I don’t know” with grow- ing frustration. Finally, a painter sets up an easel next to where Jamie is playing and quietly starts to paint the ocean. Intrigued, Jamie echoes the questions she had heard all day to which the painter only replies cryptically “I’m not sure yet.” At the end, the painting Cara Mico Author Matt Myers at Beach Books. is revealed to be a study of Jamie herself playing in the sand. “As an illustrator I never got hung up on any- thing, I found it harder to illustrate my own book,” Myers said. “I started this in watercolor but I wanted the richer colors of oils. Originally I had her in her room drawing but that was kind of bor- ing, so I put her on the beach because you can create things with things you fi nd. I just wanted to create a story about a girl who does her own thing and doesn’t want to be bothered.” The protagonist is inspired by a fellow illus- trator who Myers met at a recent American Library Association conference. “One of the illustrators was there and she was really shy,” he explained. “I’m an introvert but I can put it on if I need to, but she was just pain- fully shy. She was sitting there at a dinner where we were supposed to be schmoozing, and after a while she just had to go to her sketchbook. I thought about what that must be like for her and about my own childhood and my youngest stepdaughter, who is also an introvert, and thought that there just aren’t that many books out there for introverts.” The book is beautifully illustrated in rich oils with deep, sea green offsetting the glowing, golden sand. Each page is a work of art and the story itself is mas- terfully crafted. The orig- inals are for sale on his website. “Most of my stuff is a little zany,” he said. “My next two books are a lit- tle more comical than this one, so this is kind of a quieter book.” One is about the world’s longest licorice rope and a sneaky girl who sells it to two dif- ferent boys. The story ends after a long journey around the world where the two boys discover the mischief. They all three become friends in the end. The second project is about a little dino sponge that won’t stop grow- ing once water is added. He grows so big that he’s banished from the house until the giant sponge saves the kid from a rain- storm. They also all live happily ever after. “Now that I’ve done both illustration and writ- ing, I know that paintings may take a lot longer but what the author is getting paid for is the idea,” he said. In addition to the two books that are nearly completed, Myers would like to do a book focused on pacifi sm in the vein of “The Story of Ferdinand,” a children’s book writ- ten by American author Munro Leaf and illus- trated by Robert Lawson. It’s a story of a bull who would rather smell fl ow- ers than fi ght in bullfi ghts. “Hum and Swish” is available for sale at Beach Books, 616 Broadway in Seaside. Residents, businesses to address Sixth Avenue traffi c By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal Chamber of Commerce members at City Hall chambers. City Hall celebrates 30 years with council chamber upgrades By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal CANNON BEACH LIBRARY’S ANNUAL l a v i t s e F l l a F SATURDAY, SEPT 28, 10AM-5PM 131 N. HEMLOCK, CANNON BEACH • 503.436.1391 Silent Auctions FOR HOTEL STAYS Gift Certificate Drawings FOR CANNON BEACH SHOPS Homemade Place bids & buy drawing tickets CRAFTS & BAKED GOODS FOR SALE Sept 2-28 R.J. Marx Neighbors are seeking traffi c limits on Sixth Avenue between North Roosevelt Drive and North Holladay. so.” The street is not designed to handle commercial traffi c, he added. Seaside Vacation Homes business owner Mark Tolan responded the business met the criteria established by the city for the residen- tial-commercial zone. Tolan already directs drivers to avoid Sixth Ave- nue, he said. He said he would support Apply for your Mortgage loan Online! BankofthePacific.com MNLS#417480 All loans subject to credit approval. Fees and restrictions apply. FREE TASTING Infused Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar & Gift Wrapping At WESTPORT WINERY Home of Seaside Kites All Ages Welcome — Daily 11-6 810 Broadway — 503-739-7322 point. We’re looking for- ward in resolving this with the neighborhood.” Barber, Koller, Tolan, along with Sixth Avenue neighbors will meeting on Oct. 1, Barber said. “I’ve asked for a meet- ing with Mark and David and key principals from that neighborhood to sit down in a kind of mediation meeting to really talk about how we can work together as good neighbors,” he said. For now, the matter is scheduled to return to the Oct. 14 City Council agenda. “The thing I love about Seaside is when something like this comes up, they can work it out, to fi nd how to best to live and respect one another’s quality of life,” Barber said. “We may not even have it on the agenda.” DINING on the NORTH COAST Great Restaurants in: GEARHART • SEASIDE CANNON BEACH WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO? • Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • Junior Menu RESTAURANT & LOUNGE • Lighter appetite menu R I L EY’ S Seaside City Hall turns 30 soon, and city offi - cials opened the doors to the Wednesday, Sept. 18, morning meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. Assistant City Man- ager Jon Rahl provided a brief history of the hall as he showed off the room, recently the recipient of extensive upgrades. The current building took over from the origi- nal City Hall, built in 1914 at the corner of Broadway and North Roosevelt — today’s home of Seaside Brewing Co. Fast forward to 1989 and City Hall moved across the street. The new build- ing at 989 Broadway offi - cially debuted Jan. 16, 1990, when today’s city manager, Mark Winstan- ley, was fi nance manager and Seaside’s longest ten- ured employee, police Lt. Bruce Holt, was early in his career. Today’s City Hall cham- bers serve as venue for City Council, Planning Com- mission, City Court and an array of boards and commissions. In April, the build- ing received new lighting, carpet, and tables, among other improvements led by the city’s Department of Public Works. By May 23, the chambers were reopened. Technology upgrades are in progress, with the DSL service to be replaced by fi ber optic cable. An 82-inch video monitor and additional video screens will be added later this year, ‘We’ll be able to do a lot more with sound and video, hopefully really enhancing meetings, making it easier to present,” Rahl said. New equipment will be in place by November. Work on the building’s foyer will follow, with a new carpet, tile and light fi xtures. Next year City Hall could see a new roof, Pub- lic Works Director Dale McDowell added. The city, businesses and residents from Sixth Ave- nue between Highway 101 and North Holladay hope to resolve what some resi- dents say is chronic speed- ing, unsafe driving and vio- lations of local zoning code in the neighborhood. At Monday’s City Coun- cil meeting, Mayor Jay Bar- ber said he will meet with neighbors and local business owners in order to mitigate the concerns. At the Sept. 9 City Coun- cil meeting, residents of Sixth Avenue between High- way 101 and North Holl- aday Drive asked that the city take action on a prob- lem that has only worsened since they brought the mat- ter before the council in March 2018. “We were here a year ago during the public comment period and our comments seemed to slip into the black hole of public comments,” Sixth Avenue resident Den- nis Brodigan said at that meeting. Holding a petition with the names of 17 residents, Brodigan said that local businesses, including Sea- side Vacation Homes and Cleanline Surf, do not com- ply with the residential com- mercial zone. Seaside Vacation Homes stores a fl eet of cars, crush- ing equipment, drywall materials and pallets, Brod- igan said at that meeting. “Is this a residential/commer- cial business? I don’t think restrictions of large vehicles in the neighborhood. At Monday’s meeting, David Koller, general man- ager of Cleanline Surf on North Roosevelt Drive, told councilors he had not been aware of the residents’ con- cerns other than a brief dis- cussion about speeding a year-and-a-half ago. He said he was unaware the concerns remained until they surfaced in reports of the Sept. 9 meeting. “As far as anybody knows, we’ve never had a complaint fi led for any zon- ing ordinance for the 39 years we’ve been in busi- ness in Seaside,” Koller said Monday. “I think we can work this out as neighbors. 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