Avian-themed art roosts at White River Valley Museum

Published 2:03 pm Thursday, January 22, 2015

By Emily Muirhead
For the Auburn Reporter

A variety of renowned bird species endeared to avian aficionados and casual nature lovers calls the Pacific Northwest home.

And if you prefer staying indoors to admire the feathered beauties, Auburn’s White River Valley Museum is just the place for you.

Its latest exhibit, “Of a Feather: Artists, Birds and the Northwest,” which opened at the museum on Jan. 14, occupies one room but threatens to burst the walls with 26 works of art from 16 Northwest-grown artists.

The intimate gallery is an exemplary space to showcase the work of exclusively Pacific Northwest artistry united by a common theme, said Patricia Cosgrove, director of the White River Valley Museum.

“I’d like to position the museum midway between Tacoma and Seattle as a go-to place for fine arts and heritage learning,” Cosgrove said.

The “Of a Feather” installation should hold the interest of advanced art enthusiasts and anyone new to the museum or the art world, Cosgrove said.

Guest Curator Kenneth Greg Watson, a seasoned character in the local museum world for the past 30 years, assembled most of the exhibit, which is comprised of items borrowed from local galleries and artists.

In addition to teaching classes for the Auburn School District and Muckleshoot Tribal College, Watson is responsible for seven WRVM exhibits in the past 15 years.

“Nihon/WA: Japanese Heritage, Washington Artists,” an exploration of Japanese artistry from the Puget Sound Region, ran in the spring and summer of 2013.

Watson described three themes he sees at work within “Of a Feather”: birds as subjects that inspire admiration and reflect the beauty of the natural; birds as a metaphor for the human longing for freedom; and birds as a symbol of spiritual connection with the metaphysical world.

The exhibit symbolizes how humans often project their emotional selves onto birds and other creatures to reconnect with nature. Birds are the best, “active agents for self-reminding,” Watson says. “(They) can represent stand-ins for ourselves and our aspirations.”

Either clearly depicted or more abstract, these themes overlap in each of the bird-themed works of art. The variety of mediums employed includes paper mache, stone sculpture, feathers, jewelry, polymer clay, wood carving and even a t-shirt with a Coast Salish-styled Seahawks logo – the last one in stock from Seattle’s Stonington Gallery, Watson says.

Puyallup Tribe member Shaun Peterson designed the shirt, which was selected as an example of artwork from Native American tribes of the Seattle-Tacoma region.

“It’s important to recognize and admire what we have here,” Watson said. “I think that the endangerment of regionalism goes hand in hand with needing to honor cultural diversity.”

Watson said that a large majority of the Native American art to which people are exposed comes from tribes as far away as 100 miles. He wants to bring more local influence to the museums’ patrons, exposing them to the wonderful, culturally-saturated art closer to home.

Another piece titled, “Heron on Conner Creek”, a mosaic-style depiction of a blue heron standing in water and reeds, was made entirely from upcycled Starbucks gift cards by Auburn artist Mary Ellen Bowers.

Bowers said she realized the artistic potential in repurposing pieces of plastic that are meant to be disposable but that actually stay around forever. She enjoys hiding traces of their former purpose within her artwork, like that small coffee cup placed in the forested background of the piece. She said the positive intent imbued in the original giving of the gift cards informs and inspires her work, also.

“All these cards were given in joy, thanks, or positive emotions,” Bowers said. “It’s fun to imagine these occasions.”

The exhibit offers work from the 1950s to the present day, and organizers hope it inspires a feeling of connectedness with nature and the life around us in the great Pacific Northwest.

“Of a Feather” ends June 7. Museum admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children and seniors. Admission is free every first Thursday and third Sunday of the month.

The museum is at 918 H St. SE, Auburn.