Susan Mustard art at Crow Valley Gallery honors unsung heroes

||| FROM CHRIS & ELIZA MORRIS for CROW VALLEY GALLERY |||

The last couple of years have been unlike any time most of us have seen in our lifetimes. And they have been challenging. In her new show “Heroes and Medals,” island artist Susan Mustard honors the often unsung heroes that have emerged while also giving social commentary on the absurdities of the current times.

“Late last summer and into fall, I began to think about the fact that we were really into WWIII but nobody was calling it that.” said Susan when talking about her new work, “It was difficult to even get out of bed. It was so unlike my childhood, when a lot of us had dads with medals from WWII. There seemed to be no current heroes as we slogged along. And no medals.

“But then our heroes did start to come to mind. They were the folks working in the grocery store, the post office, the restaurants, the military, some of our national leaders, the folks gardening or making it to a dance class. I knew they were heroes because their acts required them to be defiant and courageous. So, it seemed to me only reasonable that medals needed to be made. And once I started making them they kept coming. My medals include those for valor in gardening, reading, artmaking, even etiquette. Some show my fears for the fragile state of our democracy.”

“Heroes and Medals” opens on Friday April 29 at Crow Valley Gallery. There will be a reception with Susan Mustard that day from 4 to 6 p.m. Also in the show are a few new landscape collages, oil paintings and petit point needleworks celebrating the beauty and spirit of Orcas. The show will stay hung till mid May. To take in “Heroes and Medals” visit Crow Valley Gallery, open 10-5 daily.