<p>"Male," a soda fired stoneware piece by Leslie Green.</p>

ASTORIA Earth Embrace, a collaborative exhibition, will open at RiverSea Gallery on Saturday, Oct. 5. The shows ceramic sculpture and mixed-media work by Northwest artists Leslie Green and Anna Wiancko makes a statement about our essential connection to nature. Both artists share a passion and concern for earths living environment, which they express in differing artistic styles. This body of work is both a statement about the condition of our world, and a celebration of the preciousness and beauty of the planet.

An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5. The artists will each give a short presentation on their techniques and the inspiration underlying their collaboration. Everyone is invited to meet the artists and enjoy refreshments accompanied by folk music played by Wianckos husband, Paul Chasman. The artwork will remain on exhibit through Oct. 29.

Green, a ceramic artist from Corvallis, honors large predators in her series of wall-mounted sculpture and bas-relief carvings. She attempts to capture a sense of animal essence, a timeless aliveness, through non-representational depictions. Some of her relief carvings bring to mind cave art and rock paintings of prehistoric peoples, evoking the reverence our ancestors felt for the animals that shared their lives. Our ancient dance with wild animals has been disregarded and forgotten, says Green. The purpose of my work is to open our eyes to the meaning we once shared with non-human beings.

A deep love of art and nature has guided Washington artist Wiancko since childhood. Today, she is a ceramic sculptor and mixed-media artist, who is also a practicing art therapist. It is through art therapy that she has shared the power of art to both communicate emotion and to heal, and after losing her own daughter to cancer a number of years ago she has experienced that power on the most personal of levels. In this exhibition, Wiancko presents a group of work inspired by a planet in distress, turning to art to express her fear and grief for drastic environmental change and species on the brink. Humor and playfulness have a role as well, as seen in the spirit of the animals depicted. The center piece of the show is an installation piece titled, Table of Plenty, a mixed-media sculpture formed on an actual table and chairs. The bounty of the Cascadian region is featured in separate place settings on the table and covering the chairs. Table of Plenty is about how humans can thrive while caring for the other living things around them, says Wiancko. Its about the abundance of all life if we can live together. That is my dream.

Discover fine art, contemporary craft, jewelry and gifts by Northwest artists working in a great variety of mediums at RiverSea Gallery, open daily at 1160 Commercial St. For more information, call the gallery at 503-325-1270 or visit riverseagallery.com