Raising Watershed Awareness in the Month of September

JCWC's Community Art Show Call to Artists

The Johnson Creek Watershed Council's Community Art Show aims to provide participating artists an opportunity to display and share their Johnson Creek inspired artwork with the community during Sellwood's First Friday event. The Show is part of the Council's larger, month long Johnson Creek Days watershed awareness event.

The theme of the show is artwork inspired by Johnson Creek and its watershed. Our goals of the show are to educate the public through art about what a watershed is, to engage people in an appreciation of the watershed, and to inspire artists and non-artists to look at the watershed from a different perspective. Artwork may be any medium or style, including but not limited to painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, fiber, glass, drawing and mixed media.

The Community Art Show will be held on Friday, October 1, 2010 at the Sellwood Umpua Bank located at 7851 SE 13th. Artists are responsible for delivering their piece(s) to Umpqua Bank between 5 - 5:30pm on Friday, October 1st. Artists are responsible for picking up their piece(s) at the conclusion of the show at 9pm on Friday, October 1st. There will be a table set up with an artists binder to display business cards and artist statements.

All art sales will be handled by artists directly with buyers. The Johnson Creek Watershed Council will not handle or be in any way involved in any sales of artwork. Though not required, artists are requested to make a contribution equaling 20% of all sales dollars to the Johnson Creek Watershed Council.

There will be three plein air sessions as part of the Johnson Creek Days; artists are encouraged to submit pieces created during these sessions, and are also encouraged to work in other locations. Please see the supplemental information for areas of interest within the Johnson Creek Watershed.

To participate in the show, you must submit a signed agreement along with digital images of up to two pieces of work with size dimensions to by Friday, September 24th. There is a $5 entry fee for up to two pieces. Space is limited; the Council may be required to limit the number of art works in the show, which will be determined by order of receipt of signed Agreements.

Supplemental Information for Artists

What is a watershed anyway?

A watershed is the area of land that water flows across, under, and through, on its way to a particular body of water.

Another way to look at it: an area of land where all precipitation drains to a common water body, such as a river or lake. Watersheds are not made of water, but of land. This means that the boundaries of a watershed are determined by the shape of the land that surrounds them. Water runs downstream, so buttes and ranges often form the boundaries of watersheds.

Johnson Creek Watershed Fast Facts

• Johnson Creek is 26 miles long
• The watershed is 52 square miles
• Its headwaters are in Damascus, and its confluence with the Willamette River is in Milwaukie
• Johnson Creek flows through 5 cities (Portland, Gresham, Milwaukie, Happy Valley and Damascus) and 2 counties (Multnomah and Clackamas)
• Johnson Creek is home to threatened fish species including steelhead and coho and chinook salmon
• The Johnson Creek Watershed Council was originally formed in the 1980s by a group of citizens concerned about the health of the creek, then later incorporated as a 501(c)3 non profit in 1994

Locations of interest in the Johnson Creek Watershed

• Rhododendron Garden
• Leach Botanical Garden
• Tideman Johnson Park
• Powell Butte
• Johnson Creek Park
• Crystal Springs Creek
• Westmoreland Park
• Eastmoreland Golf Course
• Main City Park in Gresham
• Springwater Corridor Trail, from approximately SE 17th to Boring
• Beggar's Tick Wildlife Refuge
• Neighborhoods, including Woodstock, Lents, Sellwood
• Industrial areas, near our office in Milwaukie