The auctioned art was commissioned by the Visions of the Wild Art and Film festival where attendees immersed themselves in a world of creativity and imagination as we showcase environmental heroes from around the world as interpreted by Vallejo and Benicia artists. All proceeds will be used for the 2024 Visions of the Wild.

From the Vallejo Times Herald:

The Vallejo arts community has always had a vision. This week it will be to celebrate local and global environmental heroes.

The Visions of the Wild Festival, back for the first time after the COVID pandemic, returns Thursday to “connect nature, culture and community.” Each year the festival — back for the eighth time — aims to explore a different theme through field trips, art exhibits, concerts, speakers and films. This year the festival is calling on numerous artists to celebrate the local and global environmental heroes who are making a difference to conserve and restore the planet.

In July a request was put out by the Vallejo and Benicia communities to nominate their environmental heroes. Those heroes will be unveiled on Thursday at the Vallejo Historical and Naval Museum.

At the center of this year’s event are hero caricatures created by local artists like Orobosa (Bosa) Olotu, whose medium is graphic depictions of heroes. Bosa was hired to create a unique hero for each of our local heroes and to design the logo of the festival, as well as its theme. The 21-year-old from Vallejo and a Griffin Academy graduate has been involved in the Vallejo art community for years.

The festival also shines on a light on global heroes — one of which is Dr. Tero Mustonen. Local artist and Napa Valley Arts Council Program Manager Crysta Tim was selected to create a portrait of Mustonen. Mustonen has worked with Indigenous communities on conservation efforts across Alaska, Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Sámi territories, and Northern Russia. He is the former head of the Finland village of Selkie, and the President of the Snowchange Cooperative, an independent nonprofit that extends the entire Arctic.

On Tuesday Tim entered the Temple Lofts on Virginia Street and saw her art of Mustonen hung up on display for the first time.

“I was surprised and honored to be chosen for this event,” Tim said. “Seeing this here, it’s kind of surreal to me.”

Tim said that the sketch part of her painting took about three hours and the total process of making the art took about 12 hours.

The most difficult part of the process? The research. Tim said she spent countless hours reading up about Mustonen.

“I wanted to document pictures of him and pictures of the wetlands in the area. The phase on how to represent (Mustonen) was the hardest part because I wanted to make sure I represented him in a genuine way,” Tim said. “I did a lot of research on the attire worn by indigenous people. Some wore headdresses, but some wore some kind of different clothing. I didn’t want to depict him in a way that wasn’t appropriate or accurate.

“Once I figured that out I had to figure out what kind of vibe to use for the art,” Tim continued. “At first I was going to go with a full stained glass culture, but that idea was later morphed into a folk art direction and then a combination of both. I also wanted to make sure I represented the wetlands, so I drew them in the background behind Mustonen’s head with a golden frame around it.”

Mustonen is one of six global heroes that will be unveiled on Thursday — the start of three days for the festival. Behind the event again is Shannon O’Hare — a longtime artist who has been associated with numerous groups such as Obtainium Works.

“This event has always been fantastic because it has brought us an opportunity for local artists to be involved and for them to be given funding,” O’Hare said. “It sets a precedence to have a future where there are more grant programs for artists here.”

All events are free and open to the public, beginning Thursday night with the Opening Night Celebration and Reception at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum where the artists and heroes will be announced.

Friday night at the Temple Arts Lofts will be the art exhibition opening. Snacks will be served at the event from 6 to 9 p.m. that night.

Also on Friday night will be the Wild and Scenic Film Festival “On Tour” — shown at the Empress Theater from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. This event will have a selection of films from the 2023 Wild and Scenic Film Festival that inspires environmental activism and a love for nature through film.

The Visions of the Wild Discovery Zone will be held on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bank Building at 332 Georgia St. This event will show people how to grow your own food, see how honey is made, learn how to protect local wildlife, discover our hiking trails, commune with a giant Osprey puppet and more.
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Celebrating Vallejo’s Environmental Victories Panel Discussion will take place at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum from 2 to 4 p.m. Music will also abound, with a drum circle at the Capitol Street Stairs located on Capitol and Sonoma from 1 to 2:30 p.m., while jazz music will take place at the same venue from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Finally at 7:30 p.m. at the Bank Building will be a screening of “Bay Area Cinema Presents Norcal Environmental Heroes.” Films about environmental heroes and activism in Northern California will be shown at this pop-up microcinema.

Delima Silalahi by Miro Salazar