<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Bits ‘n’ Pieces: Artist, cancer survivor organizes benefit

The Columbian
Published: September 3, 2010, 12:00am
3 Photos
Sheila Hutchison displays her art.
Sheila Hutchison displays her art. Photo Gallery

Two-time cancer survivor Sheila Hutchison knows how therapeutic art can be, and she’s sharing that philosophy with the community in a new show.

Hutchison and her friend, Sharon Stevens, a 67-year-old Vancouver resident and volunteer coordinator for the Vancouver chapter of the American Cancer Society, collaborated to organize a benefit exhibit. Work by Hutchison and other members of the Neo-Romantics Artist Collective, a group affiliated with Stray Gallery in Uptown Village, will be on display through September at the local American Cancer Society outpost, 2011 Main St., Vancouver. Thirty percent of sales will go to the American Cancer Society. There will be an opening reception from 5 to 9 p.m. today as part of First Friday Art Walk.

Hutchison, a 50-year-old Washougal resident and art teacher for Vancouver Public Schools, will have four paintings on display, some of which depict angels as healers. Some of the angels have had mastectomies and others have had reconstructive surgery.

“Art can be a healing process through the demons of cancer,” Hutchison said. “There are angels, light at the end of the tunnel.”

Camas photographer shoots for the stars

Camas photographer William Lee fell in love with the craft in high school, when he built his first camera using, among other things, aluminum foil, wood and cardboard.

He was still in high school when he won his first photography contest.

“That’s why I keep inspired,” he said.

It’s a hobby that has led him to the brink of being published in an upcoming issue of National Geographic magazine.

Lee, 46, is one of 12 finalists in six categories — chosen from a pool of more than 14,000 — in the Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest. He is one of two finalists in the travel category. If Lee receives the most votes in the category, his picture will be one of six in the mix for the contest’s grand prize, which will be determined by National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson. The grand prize winner’s photo will be published in the magazine; the winner will also receive a new camera and accessories, two “National Geographic Books” and a trip to the Greek islands.

“It’s a great honor to be published in National Geographic,” Lee said.

Lee took his photo at a tulip field in Woodburn, Ore. He sought to capture the contrast between the stars and the colorful tulips.

“Star trails require darkness, and tulips, which are colorful, require sufficient light,” he said. “It’s a challenge to capture a photo like that. I like that kind of photo.”

Vote at http://nationalgeographic.com/lithium.

Bits ’n’ Pieces appears Mondays and Fridays. If you have a story you’d like to share, call Courtney Sherwood 360-735-4561, or e-mail features@columbian.com.

Loading...