It was nineteen years ago that I
arrived in Scott Valley as a refugee from the Bay Area and the corporate world of San
Francisco. At that time, it was my intentions to “retire,” raise my children and
paint professionally. If you go back into the archives of the Pioneer Press in the late
1980s, you can find a picture of me with one of my oil paintings, for which I won Best of
Show. My work was shown at one of the banks in Yreka and at a restaurant on Hwy. 3 (now a
community church.) I typically painted rodeo cowboys, mountain men and interesting
characters. At that time, I painted under the name of “Wolfe” – my maiden
name.
In my case, life intervened and I returned to the art of
breadwinning. The last painting I started was a portrait of Hallie Daggett, which sits in
the closet with a hole in the corner of the canvas – a victim of rambunctious play.
(Hallie, by the way, was the first U.S. female fire lookout and she came from Siskiyou County.)
All of this history came rushing back when I attended a meeting of
the Siskiyou Arts Council (SAC) in Yreka. There were painters, graphic artists, sculptors,
writers, performance artists, film makers and other creative folk. The Arts Council is
officially endorsed by Siskiyou County and receives a small amount of funding to encourage
and promote all the arts throughout the county. They are looking for new members on their
Advisory Committee from various branches of the arts and from various areas of the county.
They will hold meetings half of the time in Weed and the rest in areas throughout the
county.
The original energy for the group came from the Mt. Shasta area.
There is a project for “Senior Theater” and another for children’s theater
at a school in Edgewood. One local performer has obtained a grant to choreograph a ballet.
Well known writers visit and hold readings at local establishments. For example, the California
and Oregon Poet Laureates will be in Yreka and Mt. Shasta in April to hold events. A mural
is being created for a long wall in Dunsmuir. Someone is working on an idea to bring arts
to the disabled. Teachers at the College of the Siskiyous are planning to apply for a
grant for student film-making. There are lots of creative ideas on the way to becoming a
reality.
Art can be used to help forge a sense of community. In Mt. Shasta,
hundreds of local people created individual tiles that will come together as the community
“Peace Mural.” In Happy Camp, Ralph Starritt used the Big Foot statue as a focal
point for the community to learn skills and to work together to physically create the
imposing statue that now stands on the corner near Parry’s Market.
SAC also has the imaginative “Arts Bus” project. This
mobile art studio carries instructors to after-school arts programs taking place in Yreka,
Etna, Fort Jones, McCloud and Mt. Shasta. It also comes to special events like the
Bluegrass Festival. As money for the arts is cut from school budgets, projects like the
arts bus step in and bring enrichment and expressive outlet for our children.
This is a fun, high energy group that welcomes the artistic as well
as those interested in supporting the arts. Check it out at
http://www.siskiyouartscouncil.org/
As for me, my Dad has asked me to do a portrait of my Mom when she
was young. My daughter has asked me to do a mural in my granddaughter’s nursery. I
may just be getting out those rusty old point boxes and seeing if I still have it in me. |
