Hood River artist Cathleen Rehfield executed six small oil paintings (6-by-6 inches) and one large oil painting 12-by-24 inches, on site and in studio. “I love Ben and Anastasia’s whole concept of farming,” Rehfield said. “Everything organic, using hand tools and the draft horses, in a beautiful setting. They do everything themselves.”
Hood River artist Cathleen Rehfield executed six small oil paintings (6-by-6 inches) and one large oil painting 12-by-24 inches, on site and in studio. “I love Ben and Anastasia’s whole concept of farming,” Rehfield said. “Everything organic, using hand tools and the draft horses, in a beautiful setting. They do everything themselves.”
“Harvesting Our Stories,” happening Friday during First Friday, is both meal and art show, and the culmination of an Arts in Education of the Gorge project pairing artists with farmers to create works of art about agriculture.
“We saw it as a way for artists and farmers to connect with each other,” said Shelly Toon Lindberg of Arts in Education of the Gorge, who noted that farmers and artists have in common both resourcefulness and the fact that they often work in isolation. Her agency facilitated the “Harvesting” project under a grant from ArtPlace of America, via the Libraries of Eastern Oregon consortium. (Hood River Library will host the event in case of rain.)
The event starts at 5:30 p.m. with an art exhibition with participatory art, followed by a dinner involving 40 guests at Oak and First streets. Dinner guests will include artists and farmers, and community members who have been involved in addressing food insecurity in the Gorge. “The most important thing is to raise people’s awareness about food insecurity in the Gorge, which is a factor for one in four people in the Gorge,” Lindberg said. “With this event and Empty Bowls in the past we’re trying not to solve the problem but perhaps to help foster some change in our part of the world.”
An empty chair will be placed to represent those who experience food insecurity in the community.
Art will be displayed and sold, with proceeds to Gorge Grown Food Network’s Veggies RX program, which makes locally-grown produced available to low-income residents.
At 7:30 p.m., the community is invited to a conversation facilitated by Adam Davis, the executive director of Oregon Humanities, with complimentary coffee and dessert for all.
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