Decorative Shell Art

 The last post featured a painting by Henri Jova entitled “Shell”.  It seems the shell's many curves inspired the painting. Other people have also been inspired by the shapes and colors of shells as evidenced by these objects from the Benton County Historical Society's collection. 

Corvallis fiber artist Salome (Sally) Formiller (1938-2019) used a slice of shell to form an interesting pattern in the bottom of her pine needle and raffia bowl.

A polished mollusk shell provided the pearly surface on which the artist carved a oriental scene of a woman and girl looking out of a house at three men in the garden. The carved figures were then painted gold.  The museum's collection contains a pair of these carved shells; the scenes are mirror images of each other.

Different types of shells cover two of the decorative eggs in the Harper collection.  Tiny shells cover the first and pieces of abalone shell cover the second, which is on display in the hall of the Corvallis Museum.

Do you have any shells or shell-covered items in your house?

By Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon 

Artist Henri Jovi

 In 1943, the U. S. Army contacted the Portland Art Museum about conducting an art workshop at Camp Adair in order to give the soldiers something to do when they weren't actively training.  The soldiers who participated were a mix of those with some training in art and others who had never done any art work before.  Some of the work produced by those participants is in the collection of the Benton County Historical Museum.  One piece, a mural, is on display in the Corvallis Museum.

Another is this painting of a shell done in oil on masonite by Henri Jovi (1914-2014).

Jovi, then a private in the 70^th Division, had been a student in art and architecture at Cornell University  prior to beginning military service. This painting and two others of his were part of the 1944  Portland Art Museum's All-Oregon exhibition. Works done at Adair were also displayed on the OSU campus and at the servicemen's center in Corvallis.

After finishing his training, Henri Jovi was transferred to the Army's Combat Engineers and served in the South Pacific.  After the war, he completed his degree at Cornell and then studied in Rome.

He became a noted architect based in Atlanta, Georgia where he designed the Colony Square, the Atlanta City Hall and the Carter Center.  He was also known for is leadership in developing the midtown area of Atlanta and in pioneering mixed used developments. 

By Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon