The ancient art of creating maps, with a little bit of history thrown in, will be on showcase at the Route 97 fine arts’ gallery in Oroville, Wash.
Lisa Middleton is bringing her Great River Arts’ maps to the 49North gallery (1400 Min St., Oroville, Wash.) on Sept. 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Using historic maps of the Pacific Northwest she will provide a taste of exploring adventures, and remind the public of the sheer beauty of cartography.
Middleton adds colour and definition to the old maps from the 17th and 18th centuries, enhancing their antiquity and framing them in subtle borders. Her passion for the art form began in her teens as she searched out rare maps and developed the technique to revive their graphic appeal as art and way-finding through history.
The exhibit is centred on the Pacific Northwest, Okanagan Valley and the Okanogan Valley in the U.S. In addition to a 1906 map of British Columbia, the gallery features several of her commissioned reproductions of rare maps depicting early-day Oroville and the Okanogan Valley.