Bilingual Light II, Barbara Mason Exhibit in the Governor’s Office Artwork on View May 4 – July 10, 2012; Artists’ Reception May 24 Salem, OR – Oregon artist Barbara Mason’s exhibit, Bilingual Light II, opened in the Governor’s Office at the State Capitol on Friday, May 4.

An artists’ reception honoring Mason and State Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen, sponsored by the Oregon Arts Commission and Oregon Cultural Trust, will take place in the Governor’s Office on Thursday, May 24, 3:30-5pm. Bilingual Light II combines Mason’s abstract visual art and Petersen’s lyrical poetry in a series of solar plate intaglio prints. Mason uses black, white and solar plate intaglio to produce resonant sketches that meld with each line of Petersen’s poetry. To create each work, Mason works on clear acetate with crayon, ink and china maker pencils. She then transfers the image onto a plate using UV light. The plate is hardened in the sun and printed as a traditional etching plate. The titles of each Mason piece are taken from a line of Petersen’s poetry.

Barbara Mason works in Aloha and is active in the Washington County arts community. An arts advocate since 1976, she has studied at University of Washington, Oregon College of Arts and Crafts, Portland State University, Pacific Northwest College of Art, and Marylhurst University. Mason has served on the boards of the Gordon Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts at the Portland Art Museum; Art in the Pearl; Crow’s Shadow Center for the Arts, and Print Arts Northwest. She is co-owner of Atelier Meridian, a full service printmaking studio in Portland. She currently serves on the Cultural Coalition of Washington County and the board of the Washington County Museum. Mason’s work appears in the Portland Art Museum; Crow’s Shadow Center for the Arts; The Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence, Kansas; The New York Public Library Collection; the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette, and in the collection of Jordon Schnitzer. The Art in the Governor’s Office Program honors selected artists by exhibiting their work in the Governor’s Office reception area in the State Capitol. Only professional, living Oregon artists are considered, and an exhibit in the Governor’s office is considered a lifetime achievement. Artists previously shown in the Governor’s office include Henk Pander, Michele Russo, Manuel Izquierdo, James Lavadour, Margot Thompson, Gordon Gilkey, and Yuji Hiratsuka. # The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services. Nine commissioners, appointed by the Governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of the Oregon Business Development Department in 1993 in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities. In 2003, the Oregon legislature moved the operations of the Oregon Cultural Trust to the Arts Commission, streamlining operations and making use of the Commission’s expertise in grant-making, arts and cultural information and community cultural development. The Arts Commission is supported with general funds appropriated by the Oregon legislature, federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust.