"WAYS OF WHALES WORKSHOP" — Make Plans to Attend This Event on Jan. 23, 2016

photo courtesy of Jill Hein/Orca Network

All around us in the Salish Sea—the combined inland waters of Washington and British Columbia—live whales called "orcas." Soon, you will have a great opportunity to learn more about them. A thrill to see, their problems are less visible and they themselves generally misunderstood. They are known as "Killer Whales" to many, but rather than being a threat to humans, these graceful creatures face devastating threats to their well-being and survival because of humans. Environmental pollution and a decrease in the salmon upon which these Pacific Northwest whales feed are manmade problems that can only have manmade solutions. 

photo courtesy of Jill Hein/Orca Network

Orca Network wants to give you plenty of reasons to care about the region's whales during the organization's annual "Ways of Whales Workshop." The 2016 event takes place on Saturday, January 23, at the Coupeville Middle School Performing Arts Center, 501. S Main St. Coupeville, WA, on Whidbey Island. Between 9:30am and 4:30pm that day, attendees can hear fascinating talks about the endangered Southern Resident Community of orcas, the Transient/Gigg's Keller Whales, Humpback whales, and more. 

Whenever I receive press releases from Orca Network, I am once again awed by the dedication of Co-Founders Susan Berta and Howard Garrett. With the help of many volunteers, they dedicate countless hours of their lives to educating the public and getting people engaged in the effort to protect these marine mammals and their habitat. By reading the Orca Network website, I recently learned how human-like these aquatic neighbors are. They have complex societies, strong lifelong family bonds, distinctive dialects and hunting practices, and other aspects of whale culture that are passed down through each subsequent generation of their families. 

photo courtesy of Jill Hein/Orca Network

Orca Network has a slogan: Connecting Whales and People in the Pacific Northwest. Wouldn't you like to make this connection? Here is a sampling of the expert speakers you can hear and topics covered in the Ways of Whales Workshop:

Howard Garrett, Orca Network - Lolita/Tokitae Update                                                      
Deborah Giles, Center for Whale Research - Southern Resident Orcas                                
Juliana Houghton, ELISS - Transient orcas in the Salish Sea                                             
Fred Sharpe, Alaska Whale Foundation - Humpback Whales                                                 
Treaty Talks: Paddling up the Columbia River for People and Salmon - short documentary 
Dana Lyons, the Great Salish Sea songEnvironmental education displays and materials will be available throughout the day, including a table from Orca Network's Langley Whale Center gift shop, with whale books, DVDs (including our NEW Fragile Waters DVD!), CDs, field guides and more.

And special this year is an additional talk on Humpback whales by Fred Sharpe on Sunday, January 24, 4 pm at the Langley Whale Center, 115 Anthes, Langley, WA.

Cost of the workshop is $35 ($25 for Students/Seniors), and a hot lunch is available for purchase for an additional $10  (for those who pre-register, or on an as-available basis).

Pre-registration is highly recommended, as seating is limited and likely to sell out.
Further information and online registration are available at www.orcanetwork.org. Questions? Contact Orca Network at info@orcanetwork.org or 360-331-3543 or 1-866-ORCANET.

photo courtesy of Jill Hein/Orca Network

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ARTIST ADRIANA WILLSIE TELLS WHY HER MAGICAL NORTHWEST CHILDHOOD MATTERED



"Mount Rainier" by Adriana Willsie

Once upon a time, in a land called the Pacific Northwest, I knew a little girl who seemed sprinkled with fairy dust. Call it sparkle, charisma, blessedness or whatever you want, but there is a certain quality that even in a world full of cute kids, some have and some do not. And she did. You know the kind of child I mean—the kind not only physically appealing, but full of glee, dancing through their days as if they believed their purpose on Earth was simply to experience carefree happiness, a rich imagination, and creative freedom. They make us smile, laugh, and wonder what they will become.



Adriana Willsie and Noah Saipe                photo by Teri Saipe

That little girl was my niece Adriana Willsie who grew up in Redmond, Washington. I watched her grow up. The happy child become the happy woman, beautiful inside and out. She graduated from Princeton University and worked in the non-profit sector for several years. Then she decided to become a full-time artist, an “unapologetically upbeat artist,” she says. Now living in Wisconsin and engaged to be married to her true love, Noah Saipe, Adriana still experiences and expresses her life with a sense of wonder, joy, and enchantment. Her distinctive artistic style delights a steadily growing number of people who have discovered her website:

AdrianaWillsie—Fresh Art & Custom Portraits.

"Dog Days of Summer"    by Adriana Willsie

Adriana first gained attention for her custom portraits of pets, because she somehow manages to express the animal’s personality as if she knew them. That same uncanny ability to recognize and make visible the true character of any subject she paints reveals itself in her still lifes and landscapes too. In each work of art, she shares her joyful spontaneity and keen perceptions.

Maybe this involves a bit of magic, because Adriana's magical childhood allowed her to see and do things in her own unique way. I recently interviewed my niece and am pleased to share our conversation with the readers of Good Life Northwest.

 

"Nighttime Cityscape - Seattle"    by Adriana Willsie

 

Good Life Northwest: How do you think growing up in the Pacific Northwest influenced your art and the person you are today?

 Adriana: I was lucky to be raised by two parents who understood the importance of unstructured play. I spent hours every day doing things like building tiny villages out of the moss and twigs in our yard, climbing trees, making my own “paints” from clay and charcoal, and shooting huckleberries at my unsuspecting brother.

These days, I can see just how rare and lucky is the kid who gets so much time playing outdoors and exploring. But looking back, I can see how it sparked my need to play and explore with paint. It's also impossible to grow up around so much natural beauty and not feel the need to somehow capture it.

 

GLN: What did you love best about growing up here?

Adriana:  I know it sounds cliché, but I loved the outdoors. Growing up, I always had this sense that our backyard was full of magical mysteries. For a while, I was convinced we had elves living in a gnarled tree behind our house. My friends and I would often go on hunts for treasures like interesting rocks or egg shells. And we assumed that the woods in our back yard could provide anything we might need (clay for binding stuff together, huckleberries for food, ferns to turn into forts, etc.) It was quite the pioneer mindset!

"Noah's Portrait"   by Adriana Willsie

 

GLN: What strong connections do you still feel?

Adriana: Somebody once bought me a little sachet of pine needles that smells exactly like the woods I grew up in. Every time I smell it, it gives me a sense of calm. Also, the sound of rain on leaves, no matter where I am, always brings my mind back to the house I grew up in.

"Lemons and Cake"    by  Adriana Willsie

 

GLN: Do you plan to do more landscapes and still life paintings in the future? What are your goals where art is concerned?

Adriana: My biggest goal for this year is to explore still lifes. I've started doing weekly challenges with artist friends to help us all improve our work, and I'm taking a color theory class at the university. I hope that by the end of the year, I'll have even more passion for painting and a deeper understanding of acrylics.

"Asparagus" by Adriana Willsie

 

GLN: Why do you choose to create works that are rather small in size as opposed to using larger canvases?

Adriana: This is something I started doing because of my budget. An 8-by-10-inch canvas is much cheaper than a 24-by-36-inch! But the more I painted, the more I realized that my painting style is to start and then work until it's done. Now I enjoy working on the smaller side because I can work my way through the whole painting at once. It also allows me to price my work so that it's affordable for everyone.



"Pumpkin" by Adriana Willsie

GLN: It seems to me that you have the ability to capture the essence of your subjects with a fresh and pleasing minimalist approach. How in the world do you do this? How are you feeling when you observe the subject and how do you discern which qualities you most want to express?

Adriana: Thank you! That's such a wonderful compliment. I'd say that the thing that excites me the most about painting is the color. Put me in the paint aisle of an art store and I will almost start drooling. When I'm beginning a new piece, I usually think about whether I want calming analogous colors or vibrant complimentary colors, and I begin making decisions from there. My paintings tend to be simple because I generally like to finish them in one day. Once I get revved up about something I'm working on, I can paint for 10 hours straight. But by the next day, it's old news.

 

"Orange" by Adriana Willsie

That may be, but the talent of this artist is the latest news. And once acquired, her work never grows old, because it comes with a wee bit of Adriana’s own essence—that of an artist gifted with originality, a love of vivid color, and a keen eye for the most important elements in the characters of people, animals, places and things.

I hope my niece's life will always feel as magical as a gnarled old tree that could be hiding elves in a Northwest forest. I hope people who read this will remember that the children in their lives also need plenty of unstructured play outdoors. If you want them to have a lucky life, they need to spend time where the fairy dust can find them.

"Tahoe"  by Adriana Willsie

Now that you know a little about Adriana, please take a look at her other paintings and delightful blog and get to know her better. Then you might want to contact her about doing a custom painting or sketch for you to keep or give as a very special gift.

Adriana Willsie—Fresh Art & Custom Portraits

Adriana Willsie’s shop on Etsy  (check out her paintings, pillows, and more)



"Griffin"  by Adriana Willsie

 

 



Good Life Northwest now has a page on FACEBOOK 

  The artwork in this blog post was used with the permission of the artist and may not be reproduced in any form.

 

Alpine wildflowers and motherhood in nature-- more hiking photos from Mount Rainier's Wonderland Trail

Tacoma hiker and photographer Maryann Huang can't seem to stay home these days, and that's fine with me. Every time I receive an e-mail from her I know I'm in for a treat. So are you. On August 4, I posted some of her photos from the Snow Lake Trail in Washington's Cascades, and I thought those couldn't be surpassed. But a few days ago she picked up her camera and headed for the Wonderland Trail, 93 miles of challenging terrain that takes you in a circular tour around Mount Rainier. She captured the scenery, the wildflowers, and more, witnessing a rare sight I'll share at the end. Just click on each photo to see a larger version. Enjoy.

Walking the Beaches of Home

This photo is my keepsake from a day when the world felt backward. When I look at it I can hear the surf and the hiss of that thin front edge of foam as it rushes over wet sand. I love its luminosity and colors. I remember the cold water around my ankles and the spray on my face. But at the time it all felt backward. On that day I learned this lesson: it’s true that “we are where we come from.” Like salmon, we instinctively know that certain place. It imprints itself on our hearts and minds forever.

I come from the northern corner of America’s west coast, land of tall evergreens and snowy mountains and beyond them the mighty Pacific Ocean. I’ve been at its shores when the sun came up in the morning over the silhouetted hills to the east and slowly lit a pastel world of water, sand and fog. I’ve been at its shores in the evening when the sun set in the west, the blazing ball of fire’s descent into darkening water marked by a bridge of gold, a billion dancing angles of light reflected on the waves. I’ve stood there many times in my life while the last hot crescent hung on the horizon’s edge, and then was gone. And I knew where I belonged.

On the east side of a road that runs north and south on Vashon Island stands the house where I was born. For my first eighteen years I could sit on the front porch on a summer evening and look beyond the lawn and across the road to the strawberry fields in the west and know, like I know my own name, that north was to my right and south to my left. The next house where I spent many years sat the same way. Once I lived with the orientation reserved and never could get over the feeling that things were backward. Looking for a new home here in Tacoma, the house that felt “just right” again sat on the east side of a road running north and south, my internal compass satisfied.

What about love and friendship? Do we subconsciously recognize the ones who understand us, who know where we come from, share our sense of habitat, our soul’s native tongue? We may travel the world, find adventure, be enchanted by another place, fall in love with someone whose sense of direction is foreign to ours, and live happily ever after. But they can never truly know what makes our secret inner gyroscope spin.

If you’re trying to guess where on the coast of Washington State this photo was taken, you’re already wrong. It depicts a magical June evening on Okracoke Island, part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, only something is missing: the setting sun. I loved it there, but when the sun set over the land to my back, instead of the sea it felt all wrong.

I could learn to live on our eastern coast. My ancestors came from Maine. I’ve eaten lobster on the waterfront there, gotten a sense of the place. I could learn to love the Atlantic’s different smell and feel and appreciate its charms. In life we end up walking many beaches, but in our hearts we know which ones are ours. I could be happy and so could you, but I would still miss watching the sun set where it “should,” over the ocean, with the person who knows me best at my side. I would miss the instinctive “rightness” of it all and revisit it in my dreams, knowing how much of who we really are is the place we call home.