Visiting mask-maker Gracen Bookmyer summed it up.

“It feels like ‘art camp,’” she laughed. “It is like going to camp as an adult.”

Bookmyer, from White Salmon, traveled with her partner Rowan Walton of Portland to participate in the Sou’wester’s annual Arts Week celebrations.

And despite Saturday starting with torrential rain, the sun shone on proceedings at the rustic Seaview campground for the bulk of the afternoon, although the trails were somewhat muddy underfoot.

Bookmyer and Walton visited the Sou’wester with their larger-than-lifesize wearable masks for the winter solstice event, telling a story called “Grandma is a Poem” which cherishes family connections.

“It is about how we adapt to change,” said Bookmyer, who has a master’s degree in gerontology.

Arts program

The Sou’wester Lodge was built in 1892 by Oregon U.S. Sen. Harry Corbett, a supporter of the arts. In recent years both it and the multiple vintage trailers in the campground have hosted artists at ever-expanding festivals. Events also showcase the art of students at the adjoining Wave of the Future Preschool.

Staff recruited a jury to select from multiple artist applications, which arrived from all over the United States; there was even interest from Canada.

Some 35 selected guests stayed for a week in the campground’s exotic trailers, bonding over collaborative projects and sharing their art, all with this year’s theme, “Embers: Darkness to Fire.” Disciplines included metalwork, dance, puppetry, kite flying and movie making.

Diverse lineup

Events began with Friday’s session at the Ilwaco Artworks, including poetry reading, drawing and music. On display were animal skulls decorated with textured granular gels and acrylics by Joe Axler of Seattle, art promoted as bringing a rebirth to death.

Saturday at the campground, Sarah Gilbert of Tacoma demonstrated her glass engraving creations to visitors. It was one of 50 free performances designed to suggest art could be “a radiant warmth.” Her project was called “Love Letter to the Sea,” playing off the idea of a message in a bottle.

While she had begun as a glass blower 24 years ago, she had always imagined a career in animation. Now she engraves on found and handmade glass bottles, referencing photographs for the designs.

“I was trying to find a way to get imagery on glass,” she explained, describing the work as, “a slow, meditative process.”

Sharing the week with creative souls who used different processes to express themselves was stimulating, Gilbert said.

“I was really excited to be around all the different artists, all working in different media and capitalizing on that idea of collaboration,” she said.

“And I like being near the beach!”