The sixth annual spring Arts Week festival at the Sou’Wester Lodge in Seaview is guaranteed to be hot stuff.

The event has the theme, “Embers: Darkness to Fire.”

Staff have invited visiting artists to create during a week-long residency from March 9-16, then share their work with the public during three days of free events.

Pull Quote

‘There are so many interpretations of what art is.’

Mary Korte, Sou’wester operations manager

“Art, as a radiant warmth, will draw us closer and inspire renewal as we tend the flames and push forward together,” organizers say.

Liz Talley, Sou’wester arts coordinator, is enthused by the variety.

“There’s so many moving parts,” she said. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all. We are not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ place. Everything is extremely nuanced.”

Her role has meant juggling the needs of 32 artists. “The thing that makes it challenging makes it exciting — catering to the individuality. My part is getting all the puzzle pieces in place.”

Connections

The artists will arrive March 9 for a welcome session and stay through March 16. Communal potlucks, yoga gatherings and juice-imbibing sessions will help them get acquainted. “People are excited about making connections,” added Talley. “It is exciting to be preparing to install them in place and be ready.”

Three public events are planned for the concluding weekend:

• 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. March 14, displays and performances at Ilwaco Artworks, the Sou’wester’s clay studio and gallery at 109 First Ave. N in Ilwaco;

• Noon to 10 p.m. March 15, multiple events including studio tours and interactive sessions at the Sou’wester Lodge, 3728 J Place in Seaview;

• 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 16, an exhibition of work created by preschool students with Arts Week artists at Wave of the Future Preschool, 1306 39th Place in Seaview. The preschool, for ages six and under, stresses ecology and the arts under the leadership of Chloe Maglio.

History

The lodge was built in 1892 by Oregon U.S. Sen. Harry Corbett, a supporter of the arts. The location, now called the Sou’wester Historic Lodge & Vintage Travel Trailer Resort, features more than 30 trailers, cabins and RV camp slots. As part of its commitment to wellness, it hosts a Finnish dry sauna and a garden spa; it even has its own cat, Meatball, who presides imperiously.

The three-story lodge, which owners call “a living time capsule,” features a lounge and scenic balcony just yards from the Pacific Ocean beach. There is a plethora of vinyl records and a library of VHS tapes, and devices to play them, plus snacks and mementos that visitors can buy on the “honor system.”

For 30 years beginning in the 1980s, former owners Len and Miriam Atkins hosted music and poetry events. Portland-based artist Julia Barbee, who will return this spring, spearheaded an arts festival called Spaceness in 2015. It ran five years. Next came Arts Week, now in its sixth year.

‘Different’

Mary Korte, Sou’wester operations manager, admitted she wasn’t initially convinced. “When I heard about it, I thought it was so frivolous,” she laughed. “Then I got involved and saw what happens here. We have artists coming in all the time. In this, the best of the best artists come and create and collaborate.”

Observing their interactions converted her. “It is just such an interesting moment of creativity,” she said. “There are so many interpretations of what art is. Life is art, so to see so many different ways in seeing art exemplified is something.”

There were 54 applications the first year, 90 the next and 128 after that. “It’s growing exponentially. It is a really wonderful opportunity to express your art and expand your understanding of art,” Korte said.

Talley said there were 162 applications for this year’s 32 slots, including an artist from eastern Canada. A judging team of five led by long-time Sou’wester collaborating artist Dawn Stetzel winnowed the choices. “She did an excellent job preparing the jury,” said Talley.

Variety

The jury took into account many factors in its selections, including varied art disciplines, alignment to the theme, and socio-economic diversity. Portland and Seattle artists form the largest cohorts; Savannah LeCornu, a self-taught indigenous artist from Ketchikan, Alaska, and Californians Samantha Alexa from San Francisco and Kaya Wurtzel and David Zetley from Berkeley, will travel the farthest.

Applications were open to artistic “collectives.” The largest are Liminal Bodies, a six-person dance troupe from Portland, and Sundae Theory, a group of three from Seattle and Olympia who encourage collective writing.

“Grandma is a Poem,” a project involving giant puppets created by Rowan Walton of Portland and Gracen Bookmyer of White Salmon, will return.

The duo featured in last year’s Sou’wester Winter Solstice celebrations. Their paper maché masks and wearable sculptures are inspired by the lives of older adults.

‘Excitement’

Talley highlighted Korte and Sora Blu, who leads Sou’wester arts marketing, for considerable help putting the week together.

“Mary is excellent at making sure everything runs smoothly,” she said. Although the artists themselves stay in on-site trailers and cabins, several community lodging businesses have partnered to offer discounts for others planning to attend.

Talley anticipates artists will embrace the theme and explore the transformation process, perhaps featuring ritual, and likely fire itself. “We want to honor the work as best we can,” she said. “When you have such a large group of people coming in with different ideas and practices, there is a lot of excitement.”

If You Go

If You Go

If You Go

Sou’wester Arts Week

“Embers: Darkness to Fire”

9 a.m. to 9 p.m. March 9 to March 16

Free public events:

6 p.m. to 10 p.m. March 14 at Ilwaco Artworks, 109 First Ave., N, Ilwaco, an exhibit and performances;

Noon to 10 p.m. March 15 at the Sou’wester Lodge, 3728 J Place, Seaview; multiple events;

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 16 at Wave of the Future Preschool, 1306 39th Place, Seaview, an exhibition of work created by preschool students.

For details, call 360-642-2542.