In a small community, in a small state, support of the arts is a regional activity. An artist’s commitment to her or his community brings many rewards to both. I have been lucky enough to use my art work to support the community activities of the YWCA, the SOS Salem homeless shelter, The Salem-Keizer School District, Poyama Land, The Salem Youth Symphony, Mission Mill Museum and The Salem Art Association.
As a volunteer I worked with a dedicated community group to save and relocate the two 1938 murals painted by Portland artist Louis Bunce from an elementary school scheduled for demolition, to their new home in a local high school.
I’ve been actively involved in the Salem Art Association’s Project Space 1 and Project Space 2 in 2008 and 2009. My years in the Salem art community have brought me in contact with some of the many talented artists working locally with few exhibition venues. I appreciate the Salem Art Association’s commitment to giving experimental art work a place in the artistic community.
Here in the far west we are lucky enough to have a record of our built environment more-or-less intact from settlement (1840’s) to the present day. In the mid 1980’s I co-wrote (with art historian Roger Hull) the document nominating my neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places. The “Court Chemeketa Residential Historic District” was officially entered into the National Register in 1987.
In the 1990’s I worked with a small group to establish the Salem Downtown Historic District. From 2001 to 2008 I served on the board of the Lord and Schryver Garden Conservancy, working to preserve the work and history of two landmark women landscape architects. I currently serve as chair of the restoration committee for the Bush House Museum, a local Victorian house museum.
Preserving the history and integrity of our built environment remains an interest of mine, living as I do in one of Oregon’s oldest settlements.
Quilting, gardening, writing, and cooking continue as passions.
