Media Contact: Leanne Ingle, Communications Specialist, (877) 284-6237, ext. 2508.

The Montesano Timberland Library (W.H. Abel Memorial Library) will host two presentations on Tuesday April 19, a feast for lovers of the arts. Both are sponsored by the Friends of the W.H. Abel Memorial Library and are free of charge. The programs are intended for a high school to adult audience.

From noon to 1 p.m., artist and instructor Erik Sandgren will present "Liquid Light: Painting of the Northwest School." Since the 1940s the internationally recognized Northwest School of art has distinguished itself by its responsiveness to nature, awareness of Asian traditions, and influence on contemporary art. Sandgren will talk about the history and significance of the works, illustrating with slides.

"Liquid light" is a term coined by photographer Mary Randlett, known in part for her images of artists at work. Her photographs illustrate much of the book, "Iridescent Light: the Emergence of Northwest Art," by Deloris Ament. Sandgren is a noted Northwest painter. His mural, "Chehalis at the Tidewater," is located on the main floor of the Montesano Timberland Library and is among his many public artworks. His presentation is part of the Friends of the Library group’s "Lunch for Your Brains" series.

Also the library, at 7 p.m. the same day, catch local playwright Bryan Willis’ thought-provoking new one-act play, "Lewis & Clark and the End of the World," starring professional Olympia Harlequin Productions actors Peter Kappler as Meriwether Lewis and Andrew Gordon as William Clark. Just three years after the Corps of Discovery completed its mission, 35-year-old Meriwether Lewis died in poverty. His final hour is one of the more controversial events in early U.S. history, his death usually assumed to be by suicide. The play explores the mind and spirit of the man and his friendship with William Clark.

Willis’ work is produced regionally and internationally on stage and radio. He wrote "Lewis and Clark and the End of the World" with intimate venues in mind. A set of simple furniture and props effectively evokes the site of Lewis’ death, a remote inn located along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee.

Timberland Regional Library serves the information, reading and lifelong learning needs of the Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston county public at 27 community libraries and 4 school-based cooperative library centers. The library system is funded by local property taxes. For information on any subject, people in Grays Harbor County can telephone Timberland’s Central Reference Service librarians toll-free at 1-800-562-6022. Or they can "Ask a Librarian" online at www.trlib.org. TTY users can contact the library at 1-800-603-6104. Anyone needing special accommodations to participate in a library’s program can contact the library 4 days in advance.