“Salty Oregon Coasty” Sal Strom, building chains of brightly colored safety pins and playfully tossing around swaths of dyed cheesecloth, will be combining art, books and fun – and the all-important human connection - to build a link across the continent.
Her goals? To “have fun, laugh, and remember that our connections through art and play make us stronger as a group,” she said.
In a road trip from one end of U.S. Highway 20 to the other, Strom and her co-creator Lynn Moyers will bring people together through her “Connecting US20” interactive art event. Strom’s link to Highway 20 runs deep - she calls Newport, Oregon home and was raised in Depoe Bay, a few miles up the Pacific coast. And at the Eastern end of US 20, she received her Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from the Massachusetts College of Art.
Her goals? To “have fun, laugh, and remember that our connections through art and play make us stronger as a group,” she said.
In a road trip from one end of U.S. Highway 20 to the other, Strom and her co-creator Lynn Moyers will bring people together through her “Connecting US20” interactive art event. Strom’s link to Highway 20 runs deep - she calls Newport, Oregon home and was raised in Depoe Bay, a few miles up the Pacific coast. And at the Eastern end of US 20, she received her Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from the Massachusetts College of Art.
A multimedia artist, Strom has taken inspiration from creating an “art as therapy” project for Romanian orphanages, and working on a six-year project with World War II veterans, in which she recorded over 100 veterans from 24 states, then merged their stories with video. She has presented her work at international festivals and discussed art’s healing effects at universities, hospitals and corporations.
But this art project is different.
Beginning May 1 at Kenmore Square in Boston, MA Strom and Moyers will travel US 20 through 12 states, ending May 31 in Newport, Oregon. What makes US 20 unique is being the longest continuously numbered US Highway at 3,365 miles. “Connecting US 20” is designed to link people through art, with multi-colored safety pin chains symbolizing the joining together of communities along US 20.
With libraries serving as host sites in each of the 12 states US 20 crosses, participants in each event will create a chain to share with the next town on the route while receiving a chain from the previous town. Cheesecloth that Strom has dyed in myriad colors will be artfully bundled by the participants around books from local authors. At the end of the event, colored cheesecloth will be tossed in the air by all involved. “This always gets everyone laughing,” Strom said of the cheesecloth. “I’m a strong believer in the healing effects of laughter and color. Moving with cheesecloth is like dancing with a breeze through a rainbow. What could be better than that?”
Moyers will blog daily en route, and his photos and short videos will be uploaded to Facebook and Instagram. An exhibit of art and photos from the trip will open at the Newport Visual Arts Center on June 9, shortly after the couple’s return to Oregon. A documentary film is planned for 2018.
The project honors Strom’s mother, the late Gracie Strom, described as the “spiritual coordinator” of the art adventure and known far and wide for her zest for life as owner of Gracie’s Sea Hag in Depoe Bay, Oregon.
“Interacting with people has always been the center of my life,” says Strom. “We’re not selling anything, but bringing color, joy and connecting the US, one safety pin at a time.”
Follow Sal and Lynn on their journey at connectingus20.com or facebook.com/connectingUS20.
(Sal’s story thanks to Leslie O’Donnell)
But this art project is different.
Beginning May 1 at Kenmore Square in Boston, MA Strom and Moyers will travel US 20 through 12 states, ending May 31 in Newport, Oregon. What makes US 20 unique is being the longest continuously numbered US Highway at 3,365 miles. “Connecting US 20” is designed to link people through art, with multi-colored safety pin chains symbolizing the joining together of communities along US 20.
With libraries serving as host sites in each of the 12 states US 20 crosses, participants in each event will create a chain to share with the next town on the route while receiving a chain from the previous town. Cheesecloth that Strom has dyed in myriad colors will be artfully bundled by the participants around books from local authors. At the end of the event, colored cheesecloth will be tossed in the air by all involved. “This always gets everyone laughing,” Strom said of the cheesecloth. “I’m a strong believer in the healing effects of laughter and color. Moving with cheesecloth is like dancing with a breeze through a rainbow. What could be better than that?”
Moyers will blog daily en route, and his photos and short videos will be uploaded to Facebook and Instagram. An exhibit of art and photos from the trip will open at the Newport Visual Arts Center on June 9, shortly after the couple’s return to Oregon. A documentary film is planned for 2018.
The project honors Strom’s mother, the late Gracie Strom, described as the “spiritual coordinator” of the art adventure and known far and wide for her zest for life as owner of Gracie’s Sea Hag in Depoe Bay, Oregon.
“Interacting with people has always been the center of my life,” says Strom. “We’re not selling anything, but bringing color, joy and connecting the US, one safety pin at a time.”
Follow Sal and Lynn on their journey at connectingus20.com or facebook.com/connectingUS20.
(Sal’s story thanks to Leslie O’Donnell)