My original plan for today had been to show photo documentation of the damage to my immediate surrounds, wrecked by the ice storm. That will have to wait since a more immediate need has come up that got my attention and requires my solidarity.

Many individuals I know have suffered losses, neighbors and a dear colleague from OregonArtsWatch who had multiple trees fall on her house and destroy it among them. The folks at The Reser had to close the gallery – with quite a bit of the art on display completely destroyed – due to pipe breaks from the storm. And then yesterday I learned that Lillian Pitt‘s studio is under water with horrific destruction of tools, materials, and collections of art.

You may remember my review of Pitt’s last exhibition and her lifetime work in Portland’s public art spaces just 4 months ago. Resilient, flexible, forgiving: The Gifts of Lillian Pitt focused on the strength and determination of a Native American artist who forged her own way, while carrying lots of others with her, to make a lasting contribution by filling our lives with beauty. Importantly, she also kept the flame of memory alive, linking to the history of her people, often tied to losses and calamity.

Loss and calamity is what she is facing now, once again, late in life. What moved me to ask everyone I know if they can possibly help – as I do today, here, as well – is not so much the material loss, but the vision that this has made it impossible for the artist to create, to work, both to make it through this shock and also to provide the necessary daily livelihood. It is like taking the instrument away from the musician, the tools from the carpenter, the pen/computer from the writer. Something at the core of your being is forcefully blocked.

No matter HOW resilient, and that was, after all, the first adjective I used in my September description, something concrete needs to be done to remedy the situation.

There are several ways we can help:

Below are some images of works on sale (from the Star People series and three prints) that will also be shown in Eugene at the PRN Gallery until mid-April. If you are interested in purchasing one just from reading about them here, you can email Mary Rose at friendsfortvancouver@gmail.com, who is representing Lillian in this case. (Unfortunately I cannot link to this email directly.)

If you feel like acquiring one of them in person in Eugene, you can contact Analee Fuentes who will help make that happen.

Alternatively, you can plan an outing to the Friends of Fort Vancouver bookstore/gallery at Fort Vancouver. The Friends are the official non-profit partner of the National Park Service dedicated to supporting the educational mission of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Executive Director Mary Rose also tends to sales on Lillian’s own website. There are many of the smaller items for sale at the historic site store and the Fort is always worth a visit in any case.

Finally, there is also a GoFundMe site for Lillian, organized by Analee Fuentes (another local artist whose beautiful work shown at The Reser was reviewed by me here.)

Here are images of the available Lillian Pitt art works: Star People sizes range from the smallest about a foot tall, to the largest at 26″. They are painted wood and some have embellishments including abalone discs or horn and tacks.

#61 $240 — — — — #72 $200 — — — — #62 $200

#63 $200 — — — — #64 $180 — — — — #65 $200

#66a $150 — — — — #66b $200 — — — — #67 $120

#68 $150 — — — — #69 $200 — — — — #70 $200

#71 $200 — — — — #74 $120 — — — — #75 $120

#76 $120 — — — — #77 $200 — — — — Star Person feeling grounded $300

Left to right: Star Person feeling peaceful $250 – Star Person feeling proud of his people $250 – Star Person feeling regal $250 – Star Person initiating four stars $250.

And here are three available prints:

Lillian Pitt Visitors, Monotype, 32x23x3/4” $860.00

Lillian Pitt Journey, Monotype, 26x35x1” $860.00

Lillian Pitt Submerged Spirits, Monotype, 27.5×35.5×1“ $840.00

Submerged spirits? Maybe. A submerged studio – not if we can help it!