Encaustic Paintings and OPAL Photos on Display

Marilee Whitehouse Holm’s encaustic paintings will be on display at Orcas Center’s Madrona Room during September

Art by Marilee Holm and Photo Exhibit Celebrating OPAL at Orcas Center in September

Encaustic paintings by Orcas artist Marilee Whitehouse Holm and 77 photographic images of the people and neighborhoods of OPAL Community Land Trust will be on display at Orcas Center during September. The exhibition, presented by the Visual Arts Committee of Orcas Center, will open on Friday, September 7, with an artist’s reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The public is invited to the reception (complimentary hors d’oeuvres, no-host wine bar) and to view the exhibition through October 2.

Holm, who has lived on Orcas since 1993, first became intrigued by encaustic painting while working toward her BFA at the University of Washington in the mid 1970s. Last year she studied encaustic techniques for 10 weeks with Hamid Zavareei at the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle. The technique requires her to work with a propane blowtorch, beeswax, pigments and carving and scraping tools. The process of carving-melting-scraping creates many layers of wax, texture and color. Her work, which will be displayed in the Lobby Gallery at Orcas Center, includes abstracts of houses and landscapes, as well as explorations of color and shape.

OPAL photo displays will also be on exhibit at the Orcas Center in September

The OPAL exhibit, which will hang in six eight-foot sections in the Madrona Room, uses photos and words to tell the OPAL story of creating affordable housing on Orcas over the past 23 years. Images capture the community land trust’s six neighborhoods, apartments and scattered-site houses, as well as some of the 122 island families who call them home.

OPAL stands for “Of People and Land,” representing a commitment to protecting natural resources while providing permanently affordable homes for people who are vital to the Orcas Island community. OPAL continues to accept applications from people who are not able to purchase a house on the open market. For more information, go to: www.opalclt.org. For further information, call OPAL at (360) 376-3191.