Chessman Gallery
Lincoln City Cultural Center
Lincoln City, Oregon


January 2009


special thanks to
Sitka Center for Art and Ecology
www.sitkacenter.org

and to
Instituto Sacatar
www.sacatar.org





4 works by Dawn Stetzel left to right:

i know i am stepping on you

just barely

i know you're invasive, but i love you anyway

population














i know i am stepping on you





i know i am stepping on you
list of materials:

the soil under my feet from my 1st step in the woods at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology on October 1st 2008, Sitka Spruce tree needles, Soft Rush, Sea Lettuce from the Salmon River, and Sitka Spruce tree resin binds together the little nucleus of soil














just barely








just barely
list of materials:

wood from the place where the Salmon River and Pacific Ocean meet, hand-carved nails, rope made from Cattail plant fibers, and Cedar bark houses glued together with the resin from Sitka Spruce trees












































































































i know you're invasive, but i love you anyway






i know you're invasive, but i love you anyway
list of materials:

photo documentation of a happening, a beachgrass hugging, on the sandy spit at the mouth of the Salmon River























population













population

list of materials:

beaver-altered wood, fragile Dungeness crab skins from the Salmon River, and rope made from Stinging Nettle plant fibers and Cedar bark that has been dyed with Red Alder tree bark


























































brief writing about each of these 4 works:


i know i am stepping on you
is about the tenderness that can exist toward nature after an acknowledgment of human impact on the environment. This piece also nods toward a similar tenderness that can exist between humans after realizing that we as humans at times unavoidably hurt the ones we love.

just barely
is a large structure that supports a tiny community. This structure holds up this fragile community, but just barely, as the ropes are thin, the twigs are flimsy and the engineered connections are a bit nonsensical.

i know you're invasive, but I love you anyway
is about a plant community on the Oregon coast, and at the same time reflects the dynamics found within human relationships at times.

population
like the piece just barely, is about a community teetering on the edge of existence. population speaks about the community of organisms living in the Salmon River as well as echoing similar concerns about our human population.









confluence
is an exhibition of select
Artists-In-Residence from the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology
during Fall 2008 - Winter 2009

Matthew Bower
(link to Matt's Source Blog)
Louisa Conrad
(link to Louisa's work)
and
Dawn Stetzel



































a final special thanks
to
the Lincoln City Cultural Center
www.lincolncityarts.org