Cynthia Lahti: Imogen Gallery, Astoria, OR

"The Taivassalo Paintings

My grandparents, Edla Soujanen and Nilo Vilulahti met and married in Astoria after immigrating from Taivassalo, Finland in the early 1910's. My father Uuno Lahti was born in Astoria in 1919 and spent his childhood in Union Town and Youngs River. My mother Janet Irving came there in the early 1950's. She was a home extension agent for Clatsop county, teaching woman how to cook and sew. They married in 1956 and moved to Portland. My childhood was full of many trips to Astoria as well as camping adventures around the Pacific Northwest with friends from Astoria. I continue to feel a connection to the place. It has sublime natural beauty and retains a feeling of being hidden and able to function by it’s own conventions. These are qualities that also dominate my artistic process. I am grateful to be able to exhibit my work in Astoria, a place many relatives and friends haunt."

Cynthia Lahti