“From Shasta Bally,” watercolor, Olive Ayhens (Courtesy Oliveayhens.com)
If you’re free for some moments after work today, Friday August 21, you might consider swinging by the Old City Hall Art Gallery in Redding, where New York artist Olive Ayhens is having a 5:30 p.m. reception following a week-long artist-in-residency stint atop Shasta Bally in Whiskeytown.
It’s the second time Ayhens — a Guggenheim Fellow with an incredible resume of exhibits and international residency awards — has visited and worked at the national recreation area. Two years ago when she was in the north state, she had an “epiphany” when she traveled to the top of Shasta Bally. It resulted in a watercolor piece and a lot of source material that she has used in other paintings.
After spending this week atop Bally, she has a lot more source material and has also painted three new works. She and her son Knute Ayhens-Johnson spent Monday through Thursday at the top of Bally. She painted and they spent the evenings in a tent (with cots) provided by Whiskeytown.
“It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” she said. “It was incredible to be out into space like that. Everyone should go up there.”
“Amphibian Emergency” oil on canvas, Olive Ayhens (courtesy oliveayhens.com)
The artist-in-residency program has a long history in the National Parks system (think: Ansel Adams in Yosemite) and Whiskeytown is one of a minority for parks that still supports such a program.
Ayhens, who has an upcoming one-person show at the Frederieke Taylor Gallery in Chelsea, New York, starting Oct. 22, said she’ll have at least one Shasta Bally influenced piece in that show. She wasn’t able to paint all day as she and her son were scrambling to find shade in the heat of the day. It’s hot in the direct sunlight, even though Bally’s summit is 6,100 feet.
“We hiked around a lot (looking for shade). We ended up shading ourselves with the vehicle quite a bit,” she said.
For more information on Ayhens and her work, visit her website .
