News around the island….

Although a week's spring-like weather gave way to sprinkles & rain on Sunday, it's been a glorious month weather-wise lately, hasn't it? Maybe NOW it'll snow...

There’s plenty happening….

• Penelope Garrett from Friday Harbor will be one of the posthumous recipients of the Congressional Gold Medals for service during World War II for her service as a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). The honor was approved Congress & the President last year. Here’s more, from the Seattle Times.

Caitlin Keys & Steve Keys singing for the Concert for SSIS & Haiti Sunday night at the Naked Bean. The place was full from 4-10pm with continual music...awesome! Kudos to Zach Milkis for pulling everyone together!

• Claudia’s painting the walls at Island Studios this week – looking good for the spring!

• The EMS Awards! Here’s more from the Emergency Services folks:

San Juan Island EMS members were acknowledged with special awards at the annual EMS Banquet on January 16. The EMT of the Year Award and the Chief’s Award went to Herb Mason. Rebecca Smith was the Officer of the Year. The Rookie of the Year Award was presented to Humberto Orozco. The physicians of the Inter Island Medical Center gave the Frank Wilson Service Beyond Self Award to Emily Hallock.

“It is a privilege to recognize these awardees for their service in 2009. They each made special contributions and extra individual efforts, beyond their regular responsibilities, to provide exemplary personalized care and emergency medical services to their fellow Islanders,” said EMS Chief Jim Cole. “We also want to acknowledge all the volunteer and career personnel and their families for their service and support. In 2009, we responded to 980 calls. Each and every member of San Juan Island EMS responded diligently, at all hours and in all conditions, to serve our residents and visitors.”

Ten San Juan Island EMS EMTs were recognized for fifteen years and more of EMS service, including Lainey Volk (25 years) and Brad Creesy (15 years).

San Juan Island EMS is the tax supported, county EMS agency serving the residents and visitors of San Juan Island, Town of Friday Harbor, Brown Island, Stuart Island, Johns Island, Speiden Island, Pearl Island and Henry Island in San Juan County, Washington. It provides emergency medical services, critical care transport, and injury and accident prevention. The staff of career paramedics and volunteer EMTs is available twenty-four hour a day.

Martin & Jill

• Wendy and Dave Picinich are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Jill to Martin Whitfield.

Jill is a 2001 Friday Harbor High School graduate and is employed by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Martin, the son of Mattie & Bobby White and David & Robin Whitfield is employed by the Clark County School District.  A July wedding in Las Vegas is planned.

That was Saucerful (from left - Robin, Chris, Zach & Grant - playing the last set at the Naked Bean last night.

• Don Galt, Jr. is hiring at Ace – here’s the deal:

ACE TEAM MEMBERS WANTED! The new Friday Harbor Ace Hardware is looking for friendly and energetic people who find helping others rewarding and challenging.

Do you have a positive attitude, are you motivated, energetic, and friendly? Are you a self-starter that pays attention to detail? Do you like to learn, and try new things? Are you responsible, honest and dependable? Whether you want part-time or full-time, can you can be available and flexible to meet the scheduling demands of a retail operation? Do you have previous experience in retail hardware, or the building trades? Can you can provide truly superior customer service? If so, please download an application HERE and send it to:
ACE of Friday Harbor
PO Box 882
Friday Harbor, WA 98250

• IMA present a Helen Loggie Retrospective – and it opens this week! (Here’s a website that will give you a good idea of her work.) Here’s more:

San Juan Islands Museum of Art (IMA), at 28 First Street in Friday Harbor, will open A Retrospective of Helen Loggie, 1917-1956, on Friday, January 29th, 5-8 p.m.

Helen Loggie

Helen Loggie, a nationally recognized artist, lived most of her life in Bellingham and on Orcas Island. This exhibition links San Juan Island and Orcas Island in a unique manner, for The Lambiel Museum on Orcas is generously loaning its Helen Loggie Collection of over 60 pieces, the largest private collection in existence, to IMA for an exhibition that will run through March 7th.

Helen Loggie was born and grew up in Bellingham, studied at the Art Students League in New York City followed by trips to Europe, and in the late 1920’s returned to her home in Bellingham. In the early 1930’s she had a house of her own design built on Orcas Island. The Islands became a place that held a special meaning for her and would become the main focus of her work in later years.  It was here in the Northwest that she created many of her acclaimed drawings and etchings. Throughout her career, there have been exhibitions of her work including solo exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the Kleeman in New York, the Paris International, the Frye Museum in Seattle, the Whatcom Museum of Art and History and at the Western Gallery at Western Washington University, both in Bellingham.

In addition to the Lambiel Collection on Orcas, Loggie’s etchings are in the following public collections: Library of Congress, British Museum, London, Glasgow University, Scotland, National Academy of Design, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and of course the Seattle Art Museum, Western Washington University and the Whatcom Museum of History and Art
The IMA exhibition is divided into two sections: Gallery I will include drawings and etchings from her student years in New York with portraiture, dynamic city scenes and St. Patrick’s cathedral, along with vibrant oils, drawings and etchings of magnificent cathedrals, bridges and fishing boats from her European travels.  Gallery II will focus on her transition back to the Northwest with drawings, etchings and oils depicting ships in Bellingham Bay, sawmills and even circus animals, but most importantly, her exquisite images of mountains, islands and trees, particularly her beloved old, gnarled trees of Orcas Island.  The exhibit will also display some of her sketchbooks, etching tools and a collection of Christmas cards.

Helen Loggie scorned abstract art and focused on realistic detail for which she became famous.  Even though she dabbled in oils, her preferred medium was pencil drawing. The brochure for the Western Gallery exhibit quoted a 1939 newspaper: “For her drawings, Miss Loggie uses three pencils, hard, medium and soft. When she goes out sketching, we are told, she takes with her a dozen pencils of each variety, all carefully sharpened, so she will not have to interrupt her work to repoint them.” Her pencil drawings of trees especially illustrate the intricate lines, e.g. of bark and the grasses on the ground below, which became her signature.

During the first half of the 20th century, current methods of reproducing art did not exist, so she became skilled at the process of etching in order to make copies of her work. Her drawings were particularly suitable for etching and she explored ways to develop contrasts in the etchings to avoid a monotone appearance. Vicki Halper, in her Loggie Exhibition brochure written for the Frye Museum, quoted Loggie: “If I had known how hard etching is, I would never have started.” However, the etching process was essential for her to share and distribute her work and she persisted in honing her skills. A description of the etching process will be part of this exhibit for one of the goals of IMA is be an educational avenue in the arts for our schools and the community.

Helen Loggie had a reverence for nature and felt her role as an artist was to preserve its beauty. Although her work covered diverse subjects, her interpretation of the trees, mountains and flowers of the Northwest convey her commitment. In her art and writing, she was clearly an environmentalist long before the word was in our common vocabulary.
Ann Friedman, author of the essay accompanying the Helen Loggie exhibition at Western Gallery in 1993, quoted Loggie:  “If I could strike an answering spark, especially in the hearts of the young people, so that they would realize that natural beauty is the greatest heritage the West has to give her children, so that they would protect what remains of our Northwest… then I would indeed feel that the years have been well spent.”

The Museum is open Friday through Sunday 1:00-5:00 PM, or by appointment.

IMA, San Juan Islands Museum of Art and Sculpture Park, 28 First Street. 370-5050.  School groups, youth groups, scouts, or Elderhostel leaders – call IMA for a guided tour.

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