Fire Mountain School students Sierra Shea, Emelio Tate and Brogan Shea with some of their Coastal Edge artwork.
The mountainous shoreline that North Coast Land Conservancy calls the Coastal Edge includes state parks, a marine reserve, a potential Rainforest Reserve … and an elementary school. Children at Fire Mountain School, south of Arch Cape, spend one day each week outdoors as part of their Nature Awareness Track, and for the past two months they have been focusing on the natural world of the Coastal Edge around them. They’ve been using their weekly art class to record their impressions of the Coastal Edge in watercolors, pastels, ceramics and other media. See the results in a pop-up exhibition at Cannon Beach Arts Association gallery on Friday and Saturday, May 18 and 19. A reception will be held Saturday from 10 am to noon; a short program at 11 a.m. will include remarks by NCLC Executive Director Katie Voelke. The gallery, at 1064 S. Hemlock St., is open from 11 am to 4 pm Friday and 10 am to 4 pm Saturday.
“NCLC asked the students at Fire Mountain School if they would be willing to share their artwork with the community to inspire them to conserve the Coastal Edge, and they said they would,” said Voelke. The school emphasizes what it calls place-based learning, drawing lessons from the community and the landscape where they live. The students, ranging in age from preschool to grade 5, have also been creating temporary artwork in the forest and on the beach, inspired by the site-specific work of British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy.
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