Opening at Westmont's Ridley-Tree Museum of Art on Thursday, January 10 will be the last iteration of the Rose Compass project.
Rose Compass: Paintings of Santa Barbara’s Watershed
We will be part of a larger exhibition called "Watershed: Contemporary Landscape Photography".
In this, our 8th year of drought, we feel the message about our watershed is more important than ever. We hope to bring awareness to the public of just how precious a commodity our water is.
I'll be showing 12 gouaches from our Santa Ynez river watershed series, several of them never shown before:
low lake strata, 4"x3" ($450)
this is the very first gouache I did for the 'River's Journey' project, from our first outing to Cachuma Lake in 2016 during one of the lowest points of the drought.
Bradbury dam, low water 3"x4" ($450)
this is the second gouache from that same outing. we are still at about 31% capacity for the lake.
high water mark, 3 1/2"x5" ($450)
sign posted at the Live Oak camp crossing to the equestrian area. 1998 was a real flood year, and today we are far below normal.
dam keepers shack, 4"x4" ($475)
from our first excursion to Jameson Lake and Juncal Dam. This was the original structure used by the Dam tender, way back when. It was burned in the Thomas Fire.
pool and pipeline, 3"x4" ($450)
at the very bottom of the old dam, there was a white PVC pipe rigged up to get water from the bottom of the lake - the water was so low, it couldn't reach the normal release area. In order to keep water moving through the weir, they had to use this temporary system. This was Montecito's main water source! People in the community had no idea how tenuous this was.
Gibraltar Dam from Camino Cielo, 4 1/2"x3" ($450)
snuggled down in the canyon, the second dam in the system is highly sedimented. The Santa Ynez mountains stretch off in the distance.
quonset hut, Gibraltar Dam 4"x4" ($475)
we were lucky to get a field trip to visit the dam up close and personal, thanks to Rebecca Bjork the head of Public Works in Santa Barbara. This is the visitor's quarters for researchers and other personnel that monitor the dam.
river shack, Santa Ynez 6"x4" ($500)
exploring along the river, we came upon a ranch that seems to have access only across the river when it is low (which is most of the time). I was struck by the variety of trees planted here - including the large palm.
river rubble 3"x4 1/2" ($450)
rambling around in the Santa Ynez river bottom, near the 101 hwy bridge, we found only a few puddles. This one was near some old construction detritus, that reminded me of ancient remnants from another time.
The last three images are all of the fish passages that are installed along the River to help the Native Steelhead find their way upstream to spawn (if we ever have enough water again for that to happen). These were installed and supported by various agencies including CA Fish and Game.
Hilton Creek fish passage, 4"x6" ($500)
this is just below Bradbury Dam, on Federal Bureau of Reclamation land so we had a special tour with the manager of the Dam. Water is systematically released from Cachuma Lake and diverted through this outlet to keep Hilton Creek alive and the fish population from disappearing.
Jalama Road/Hwy 1 Fish Passage, 4"x6" ($500)
this structure was built nearly underneath the bridge of the road that goes to Jalama Beach. It directs water from Salsipuedes Creek - a tributary of the Santa Ynez river. We hiked down a hillside of poison oak to get to it and found a truly magical spot - shady, cool, full of wildflowers and plants, tadpoles and tiny fish. Steelhead can travel up one level to the next as they make their way upstream to spawn.
Hwy 1 fish passage, 6"x4" ($500)
just a short ways downstream from the Jalama passage, we found this structure, also keeping water moving from Salsipuedes Creek. It was a steep hike down, but worth it to see how the passage worked. It was fascinating to see the blend of human-constructed forms in the natural river and the attempts to support what little fish population remains.
All works are matted and framed with museum quality plexiglass and are available for sale. Prices are shown in parentheses above.
The River's Journey: Revisited is also still on view in the Santa Barbara City Hall Gallery, downtown Santa Barbara at De la Guerra Plaza.
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