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Reference & Information line: 704-INFO (360-704-4636) in Olympia area or toll-free 1-800-562-6022.
TRL Web site: http://www.trlib.org
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
October 20, 2005 |
Media Contacts: Leanne Ingle, Communications Specialist, 360-704-4508; e-mail: lingle@trlib.org.
Lynn Erickson is available at 360-438-2259.
Library unveils paintings portraying Olympia changes through time
The Olympia Timberland Library will unveil "Sylvester’s Window," a series of eight historically accurate cityscape paintings portraying the development of downtown Olympia from 1841 to 2001, at a public presentation and reception on Tuesday, October 25 from noon to 2 p.m.
The presentation ceremony begins at noon with remarks by Mayor Mark Foutch, Timberland library officials, and the project’s creative team, Lynn Erickson and Robert Chamberlain. Afterward, the public will have an opportunity to meet Erickson, who developed and produced the project, and Chamberlain, the artist. People will also be able to preview Sylvester’s Window educational kits that will soon be available for purchase. The Friends of the Olympia Timberland Library will provide refreshments.
Erickson, an educator and longtime Olympian, conceived Sylvester’s Window in 2001 as an educational and community-building project. Her vision was a large one. When she approached Chamberlain to do the paintings, she recalls him saying, "Sounds impossible; I’ll do it." The 67-by-30 inch watercolor panels all present precisely the same view, looking north from the third-floor tower window of Edmund Sylvester’s home that once stood near Seventh Avenue and Capitol Way. Each cityscape is based entirely on historical fact with extensive research assistance from the Olympia Heritage Commission and the Olympia Historical Society.
The paintings are so detailed that both children and adults will likely want to pore over them for hours. One engaging feature is the black bear that Chamberlain tucked into each painting in honor of the original Coast Salish name for the area, "Cheetwoot," meaning "Place of the Bear". From eight to thirteen historical figures are represented in each painting.
The educational kits Erickson has developed include full sets of large and small prints of the paintings. Each cityscape is accompanied by a narrative, biographies of people of the time, a timeline of events, questions, diagrams and research projects that can be used for all grades. People will be able to look at the components during the afternoon and sign up if they wish to purchase a kit. The original paintings themselves will be on permanent display at the library.
The Olympia Timberland Library is located at 313 8th Avenue SE. For more information, people can contact the library at (360) 352-0595.
Presentation event details
Noon: Presentation ceremony in the library beneath the paintings
Acknowledgements and Recognitions, Speakers:
12:30 to 2:00 p.m.: Reception in library meeting room
Meet Lynn Erickson and Robert Chamberlain and enjoy refreshments.
The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Olympia Timberland Library and Timberland Regional Library.
Educational and business groups and individuals who sponsored this project:
"In kind"
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, the Thurston County public can telephone Timberland’s Central Reference Service at 704-INFO (704-4636) or they can "Ask a Librarian" online at
www.trlib.org. Anyone needing special accommodations to participate in a library’s program may contact the library a week in advance.Revised 10/21/05
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Timberland Regional Library serves Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston counties in Western Washington State.