From February 8th to May 17th the Portland Art Museum Volcano! Exhibit features a grand photograph of Mt. St. Helens from that fateful day 40 years ago from NWTA’s Tara Bowen-Biggs’s father. Below is the story from Tara about how it all came together & the surprise she & her sisters had when they saw the display. Many thanks to Tara for allowing Northwest Trail Alliance to share her story.
Written by Tara Bowen-Biggs.
The Portland Art Museum contacted me a few months ago after coming across my dad’s photos on the internet archive . They said they were going to blow it up and make it a large-scale photomural in the indoor sculpture garden. I really tried tempering my expectations and I thought at the most it would be blown up to the size of the wall in our living room.
Imagine our surprise when we entered the indoor court and found the photo blown up to over two stories high! The photo of me and my sisters was taken by a very kind man who took it from the second-floor balcony. I didn’t get his name.
I can’t wait until Charlie (Biggs) sees it so he can investigate the landscape up close. It turned out remarkably well. Big thanks to Bruce Ely (who happens to be the photographer for the Trail Blazers!) who helped digitize the photos and to Seth Walker who told the story of our flight around the mountain on May 18.
The Portland Art Museum’s Volcano Exhibit goes through May 17 (not sure why it ends the day before May 18?)
Tara, Charlie and The Biggs clan are a big part of our Signature Campout SHIFT (St. Helens International Festival of Trails) which happens this year from August 14th to 16th. Fingers crossed that Tara may share some more of the pictures that were taken that day during Saturday evening’s festivities.
Along with being a super fan of all things Mt. St. Helens, Tara is also known in the Portland Trail Blazers world as “Team Mom” & has a great podcast on Blazer’s Edge.