Project Grant (2014) Regional Arts & Culture Council, 2014. The project is to create a visual artistic record of the building of the Tilikum Bridge, a Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Willamette River Bridge, Portland, OR using portraits of the working people such as builders, contractors who participate in the project.
I was recently one of 20 artists selected to portray the Blue Heron Mill in the Art Contemplates Industry show in Clackamas County. Artists were to document an old paper-mill that was shut down and abandoned. I was thrilled, because this was an experience of personal significance to me, enabling me to document buildings and structures that are often unrecognized and forgotten.
I made contacts with the Tidewater Holdings Inc. maintenance crew and I was invited to go with them to the pier at the Columbia River, Vancouver, WA, and watch them do the maintenance of the various barges. I felt privileged to be able to document a story about how heavy industrial shipping transportation is constantly maintained, and about the workers who maintain it.
I made contacts with the Oregon Maritime Museum crew of Portland, OR, and I was invited to go with them to the sternwheeler steamboat Portland and watch them do the maintenance of the paddle wheel. I felt privileged to be able to document a story about how a historic boat is constantly maintained, and about the volunteers who maintain it.
I had an opportunity to participate in a publication: Hawthorne Bridge, 2010 Calendar, Celebrating 100 Years in Art and Words, which features works of 12 artists, of which I was one, celebrating and supporting the Hawthorne Bridge Centennial Celebration. There I had made contacts with the Multnomah County Bridge Maintenance crew of Portland, OR, and I was invited to go with them to the top of the Hawthorne Bridge and watch them do the greasing of the bridge’s bearings and the maintenance of the operating mechanisms. I felt privileged to be able to document a story about how a bridge is constantly maintained, and about the men who maintain it.
Click on each image to see tittles and full image.