Furnish has completed many public artworks, including the Regatta monument near the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

Artist Jeremy Furnish gravitated to found objects at a young age. He liked to rearrange things on his teacher’s desk.

“It was an easy way to make my friends laugh,” Furnish said. “Now, as I move through my life, it’s become a familiar way to communicate with those around me — to make them laugh, or to share sentiments on a deeper level.”

In January, he became the latest artist to complete a six-month residency through the a-i-r program with Astoria Visual Arts, a nonprofit arts organization.

Artists in the program are awarded dedicated time and space to complete a body of work at the Astoria Studio Collective on Duane Street.

A forthcoming show of works created by Furnish during this time will be displayed at galleries like Made in Astoria on Commercial Street and Shearwater Gallery in Cannon Beach.

Furnish is best known for his large public art installations, like the Regatta monument near the Columbia River Maritime Museum and a dual tree installation at the Seaside Civic & Convention Center.

Others know his found object works from the Coastal Oregon Artist Residency or dozens of art deco lighting fixtures made for the Clatskanie Cultural Center and Birkenfeld Theater.

Before relocating to Clatsop County, Furnish lived in Clatskanie, where he worked out of a barn studio for 15 years.

This was the ideal space for creating massive works for the public to enjoy.

However, Furnish will now be working in downtown Astoria with a relatively small studio space.

But this idea excites him.

“For me, it provides a wonderful creative balance with my large-scale work. I would call it an instant gratification opportunity, as opposed to a six-month marathon one after another,” Furnish said. “I’m just now beginning to filter my smaller works into local galleries.”

Another added gift is the focused space and time that the residency allows for him to hone in on smaller creative works.

“The gift of a space and time to dedicate to creative work is what dreams are made of,” Furnish said.

“For years, I had envied those who had received this residency,” he added. “I saw the advertisement for this residency on social media and the stars aligned. I’m truly thankful to the selection committee.”

Whether it’s a grand-scale public installation or a piece that can be held in the palm of a hand, the thread that connects all of Furnish’s work together is the desire to evoke emotional responses.

To accomplish this, he said he works within the balance between nature and the modern world with an emphasis on storytelling.

“My personal connection to the region flows between the lines where the natural world meets the modern world,” he said. “I find myself moving between these, and would like to think that my work has a familiar taste of the sea and the onshore breeze. Sweet and salty.”