Old Hotel Art Gallery features sandhill crane artisans
OTHELLO — Othello's Old Hotel Art Gallery has two new artists on display this month. Susanne Ratcliffe Wilson and Tim Boyer have sandhill crane works on display.
Susanne Ratcliffe Wilson, a resident of Homer, Alaska, has 32 kiln-formed glass dishes and tiles on display at Othello's Old Hotel Art Gallery. Each item has images of sandhill cranes.
“Images are based on my photographs of the sandhill cranes that migrate to Homer, Alaska every summer to breed,” said Wilson. “These are some of the same cranes that stop in Othello on their migration to Alaska.”
Wilson has been working with kiln-formed glass for 14 years. She developed her style about seven years ago during a class by Catherine Newell at Pilchuck Glass School. Before working with glass, Wilson was a painter.
“Many years ago, I was a painter and then I fell in love with glass,” Wilson said. “Now I make paintings in glass using glass powders.
“The sandhill cranes inspire me. I never tire of watching them. I observe cranes on the street where I live in Homer, Alaska. I've watched six-inch tall baby cranes grow into colts (juveniles) and after a short three months, fly away on their migration south. I've learned a lot from Kachemak Bay Sandhill CraneWatch.”
In addition to making sandhill cranes in glass, Wilson also makes other kinds of birds, scenes of Alaskan mountains, marine mammals and water.
“I've also made memorial images of companion dogs,” said Wilson.
Wilson's work can be viewed at www.facebook.com/glasspowderartist.
The other artist on display at the Othello Old Hotel Art Gallery is Tim Boyer. Boyer, a resident of Renton, has been a photographer for 47 years.
“While I've been a photographer for 47 years, I've only been photographing birds for the last 19 years,” said Boyer. “These days 99 percent of my photography is birds. I identify myself as a birder and a bird photographer. I study bird behavior and migrations so I can be at the right place at the right time of year to photograph birds, like the Sandhill Cranes in the Othello area in late March.”
Boyer got his start in photography in high school when he was the photographer for the school's newspaper. In college, he began bird watching. The two passions combined for Boyer in the year 2000.
“I owe my start in photography to Mr. Cosgrove, my high school social studies teacher, and am thankful that he got me started down this hobby that turned into a profession,” Boyer said. “I love being outdoors, and birds just seem magical to me. They migrate incredible distances every year, and what they do as a normal part of their lives just fills me with a sense of awe. So, I try to honor that in photographing them, showing their character and hopefully people will see the images I make and appreciate birds more.”
Boyer has notecards, matted bird photos, canvas prints and bird images printed on aluminum on display at the Old Hotel Art Gallery. Also available is his book, “Learn the Art of Bird Photography.” He will be available for book signings from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 23 at the Old Hotel Art Gallery. More of Boyer's work can be viewed at www.timboyerphotography.com.
The Old Hotel Art Gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 33 E. Larch St., in Othello.
Rachal Pinkerton can be reached via email at rpinkerton@columbiabasinherald.com.