Mother & Child
Betty Bastai aims to build a bridge between humans and nature with an art installation she will call
Mother & Child. Bastai is visiting public gathering places on Whidbey to explain her project and to encourage
islanders to send in photocopies of family portraits for incorporation into the work. The deadline for submissions is
Wednesday, Aug. 31. So far, reactins are mixed. Some people are puzzled, she said. That's OK with Bastai. She wants
her arwork to startle, to raise questions and get people talking. Bastai has toured local farmers' markets. It's been
great to get out there and talk to people, she said. She explained what an istallation is to folks unfamiliar with
this art form. Simply stated, it's like designing a stage set or a separate environment. This mode of expression
enables Bastai to combine multiple media, of which visitors to her latest project will soon become aware. In Mother &
Child Bastai connects humans to the animal kingdom through the creatures that live in water and salt, two elements
essential to all life. She will arrange the images, scatter salt and play recordings of orca vocalizations during
her presentation. The creation of this artwork will bring people from different backgrounds and ages together, she
said in press notes. Mother & Child will be open for viewing during the Whidbey Island Studio Tour Sept. 24 and Sept.
25 at the Rock House, in Oak Harbor. Bastai is a globe trotter whose concerns for the environment and
for art brought her to Whidbey. She was born in Modena, Northern Italy, in 1962. She moved to the Republic of Ireland
in 1989 and in 1991 she traveled over the water to Scotland. She attended Edinburgh College of Art from 1994 until
2000 when she earned a Masters Degree in Painting. Then she moved to the U.S. For a year she worked at the Gifford
Pinchot National Forest as a Cultural Resource Technician in the field of Forest Archeology. She married American
born musician Sam Osteen in Coupeville in March 2003. They now live in the Rock House in Oak Harbor.
Bastai's work has been exhibited in Europe and other parts of Washington. Her photos are shown in several museums
and visitor centers in Northern Ireland and Scotland. She collaborated with artists and residents in productions of
community art projects and children's plays in Scotland. Skagit Valley College will feature an installation by Bastai
Sept. 19 through Oct. 21 in the art gallery on the Mount Vernon campus. She will give a talk on her art installation
titled Water, a mixed media installation, at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 7 in Room 101 of Ford Hall. An artist's
reception will follow, with husband Sam Osteen playing a soundscape on electric guitar as a backdrop. Installations
are not new. They are an art phenomenon that's been happening since the 1960s. The work is transitory. That it is
temporary is an essential part of the work, she said.
© Copyright 2005 Whidbey News Times