The April show at the Josephy Center, “Timber, Logging, and the Mill,” will celebrate the timber industry and its history in Eastern Oregon and opens Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. The artwork–crafts and furniture made of wood and paper; photos, paintings, sculpture–will all revolve around wood, from trees in the forest to the manufacture and transportation of lumber, and to the many and diverse products fashioned from wood. Featured artists include David Martin, Tom Clevenger, Gabriel Manca, Scott Schmidt and historical logging photos from the Wallowa History Center and Marilyn Goebel.
The Wallowa Nez Perce managed the forests of Northeast Oregon and used their products from time immemorial. Their yew wood bows were famously traded across the region, and their seasonal burning of the forests is being emulated today. With white settlement, houses, barns, roofs, fences, pens, and living and working with wood–and eventually with mills and the logging industry–became a keystone of the regional economy and culture. In time, the lumber business assumed a major role in Oregon’s statewide economy. Its rises and falls, hiccoughs and spurts, have changed and channeled lives from the Wallowas to the Statehouse in Salem ever since.
The month-long art show will be accompanied by brown bag lunch discussions on April 7 with logger and mill-owner Jim Zacharias will discuss the past, present and future of the timber industry. On April 21, David Schmidt will be here to discuss his business Biomass Intergrated Systems. The evening of the 7, we are honored to present our Live and Up Front, artist lecture series – wood artist Tom Clevenger who will explain his process and discuss his artwork. On Thursday April 9, we have a series of films on logging forests at 7, and a film on April 23 at 7 p.m. “A Wild American Forest”. And lastly, on April 29 at 6 p.m. a presentation by Oregon State University . The Center’s goal is to bring this important part of Eastern Oregon life to the fore. Artists, writers, millworkers, loggers, firefighters, and storytellers are invited to join us in the work.
If you have questions about the exhibit and accompanying activities, please contact Josephy Center Director Cheryl Coughlan at 541-432-0505, or at info@josephy.org.