Art with a Mission: DIGGS launches new show during Montrose Arts and Crafts Fair to benefit local non profit

Amid the lively atmosphere of the Montrose Arts and Crafts Fair comes a reception for a show that crosses boundaries, blending together what we tend to view as separate...a forest, and a highway. Yet they are from from separate. They are inextricably intertwined. And amid the canvas and sculpture and photographic display, there will also be mechanical art...motorcycles. Because you can't really call a show "Highway 2" and then ignore one of its most enthusiastic audiences.

All motorcycles are welcome to Highway 2's second People's Choice Motorcycle Show; first come, first served on June 3, beginning at 11 AM in front of DIGGS at 3819 Ocean View Avenue. There's room for about fifteen bikes.

Somewhere between 26 and 28 artists have work in the show, and many pieces are 100% donations to Redbird, the non profit Native American and environmental organization curating and promoting the show. DIGGS Montrose has very generously given Highway 2 a two month run in their Montrose real estate office gallery.

The show is about art, yes. But it's also about tolerance, appreciation, awareness, mutual respect. We share both the highway and the forest itself with myriad individuals, groups and interests. Everyone who comes to the Angeles brings some part of themselves along.

People need nature. It’s not just a fad. Our emotional and physical well being can benefit tremendously from tuning out of the daily grind of our lives and tuning in to the natural world.

Recreation…literally, re-creation…has many forms. Some people come to the forest looking for a quiet place to meditate. Some enjoy the physical challenge of a strenuous hike or bicycle ride. Some people make art. Some people enjoy the view from the comfort of their vehicles. Some spend their time doing volunteer service…planting trees, building trails, removing invasive species. Some forest visitors come not only for the sanctuary of the forest, but for the highway itself…a two lane stretch of asphalt known as Angeles Crest…scenic, challenging, technical.

Highway 2 - the journey and the destination embraces what I like to refer to as “the best days of our lives”. Those of us who take the time to re-create in the Angeles, regardless of how we do it, share something very special and difficult to define. We develop a sense of community and a sensitivity of self. We are feeding our souls. Making memories. Living life out loud.

That glory does not come without a cost. Sometimes the mountains which fill our world with beauty are also where we lose our loved ones. The more people we meet, the more friends we make, the more our circle of extended family grows, the more likely we are to share in the loss when someone loses their life…in a hiking accident, or through severe weather, or on the highway itself.

Yet we return. On some instinctual level we understand that a life without the cooling breath of nature, without open sky above, without the scent of trees and the feel of the wind and the sight of stars…it is only half a life.

We grieve. And we go on.

Highway 2 - the journey and the destination is an art show born from the desire to make a difference…to raise our awareness and appreciation of not only the forest but all of its diverse users…and to enhance our experience of the forest by providing educational opportunities that can expand our understanding, and maybe even save lives. We have conducted a number of educational workshops in conjunction with the show, including motorcycle technical skills and forest ecology. We are grateful to our sponsors, and our hosts, for helping us along on this journey.

Highway 2 at DIGGS artists:

Aaron Dooley, Yiannis Samaris, Pete Morris, Lynne Fearman, Guido Frazzini, Eddie Urfano, Kimberly Ann Talbert, Kai Reiss, Randy Emata, Sofya Zueva, Craig Bobchin, Skye Amber Sweet, Duke Trinh, Thai Long Ly, Kathryn Hansen, Brandon Hammerli, Noel Kent Martin, Wendy Walker, Raffi Kaprielian, Allan Roman Reyes, Brian Bettelyoun, Maree Cheatham, Kimberly Kellerman, Leslie Wallstedt, Sonny Putro, Corina Roberts

For more information about Redbird please visit www.RedbirdsVision.org

Highway 2 at DIGGS - on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/event...