(Above: Spread Your Limbs by David Becker)

By Randi Bjornstad

The Emerald Art Center will be an especially important stop on downtown Springfield’s Second Friday Art Walk on April 8, because it offers a valuable glimpse into the lives of people in Lane County who have survived suicide attempts.

The project, titled Why We Build, is a collaboration between the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Lane County and the Lane County Public Health Department.

It is a multi-media installation that follows the lives of 16 people in Lane County who have documented their experiences with suicidal impulses through photographs and recordings of their own stories in their own words. It can be viewed from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. during the art walk at the Emerald Art Center at 500 Main St.

After that, the show will be available at the art center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, ending on April 29.

The Why We Build exhibit will appear in four galleries around Lane County. More information can be obtained on the Suicide Prevention Coalition’s Facebook and Instagram pages or by contacting Roger Brubaker, the suicide prevention coordinator at Lane County Mental Health, at roger.brubaker@lanecountyor.gov.

In addition, those who struggle with suicidal thoughts, or people who know them, can call the National Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text 741741 to speak to a trained crisis counselor.

In addition to this special exhibit, the Emerald Art Center also features works by two of its members in April, as well as displaying new works by many other center members.

Craig Gamble’s colored-pencil drawings is called Follow the Guiding Star of Hope and portray’s a hero’s journey to fantastic lands.

David Becker’s exhibit, Naked Trees, shows trees stripped of their foliage to reveal the elemental shapes and curves of trunks and branches; he describes his approach as changing the adage, “You can’t see the forest for the trees” to “You can’t see the trees for the forest.”

Emerald Art Center April exhibits

When: Through April 29; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday but also open on Fridays until 7 p.m. and during the Second Friday Art Walk until 7:30 p.m.

Where: 500 Main St., Springfield

Information: 541-726-8595 or emeraldartcenter.org

Craig Gamble’s, The Neon Universe