Dwight Caswell Photo from Coast Weekend

Eric Wiegardt and David Campiche will be front and center at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum tonight.  The opening reception for their Retrospective Exhibition of Ceramics (David) and Paintings (Eric) begins at five p.m.

It should be a meet and greet of the first order and never mind the “meet” part.  I’d wager that there won’t be a person present who doesn’t know or, at the very least, have a nodding acquaintance with these two popular local artists.  Many probably have a Wiegardt painting on their wall or a Campiche pot or two on display.  Many of us older folks have watched their development over the years and take pride in their progress and accomplishments.

Eric Wiegardt

Not that we can take even a modicum of credit, of course.  We know that.  But, somehow, clapping and cheering and buying (even if only occasionally) makes us feel proprietary in some way. I wonder if they mind?  I hope not.

Both men graduated from Ilwaco High School. David attended Lewis and Clark college and studied art in Paris and New York.  Eric went to the American Academy of Art in Chicago.  Each returned to the Peninsula to raise their families and pursue their careers.  And, both live within hollerin’ distance of their boyhood homes – David in Seaview and Eric in Ocean Park.

Even more than is usually the case at a CPHM opening, I’m sure I’ll be hard pressed to pay much attention to the artwork.  There’s no doubt in my mind that this reception will be more about congratulating and schmoozing than really taking in the progression of Eric’s and David’s art over the past forty years.  We’ll have to revisit. Thank goodness the exhibition continues through October 6^th.   I already have it marked on my calendar!