Sitka Center for Art and Ecology
Otis, Oregon
I had the honor of attending a three month residency on the Oregon coast at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. It's a beautiful place where the Salmon River meets the Pacific Ocean. My first residency. As much as I looked forward to having this time to focus on developing my artwork, and be inspired by the natural landscape, it was the relationships formed with the other residents that had the biggest impact on me. Immersion in a collaborative atmosphere with writers, photographers, musicians and scientists from around the world opened me up to new perspectives.
This concentrated eclectic community was a special opportunity for me to understand and witness how my own unique stories, experience, artwork, and self have the power to directly influence and uplift the stories and practices of those around me — my community. And in exchange, I allowed my practice to be shaped by them.
A resident biologist’s efforts to save the spring Chinook found them swimming through my piece Salmon Year. A trip together to the Chachalu Museum and Cultural Center in Grande Ronde, and a private meeting with tribal elders informed Plumas (Feathers). The breathtaking ecology of the Oregon Coast as experienced by our temporary community is captured in my Cascade Head and Wapiti (Elk) artworks.
View the entire Sitka series.