JOSEPH — Joan Gilbert’s show, titled “Wallowa Lake 55×55,” is the culmination a three-year artistic journey exploring Wallowa Lake while experimenting with mediums, styles and techniques.

Josephy Center for Arts and Culture, 403 N. Main St., will host a reception for the solo exhibit on Oct. 1, 7-9 p.m. The show continues through Nov. 12 and can be seen Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

About the artist

In 2019, in the middle of a career as a successful graphic designer/illustrator, Gilbert said she “took a life gamble on art.” She gave herself three years to indulge in art for art’s sake.

Her goal would be to explore different mediums and styles, and she set out to produce 55 pieces of art by her 55th birthday. She picked a broad local subject, Wallowa Lake, so she could focus on the experimentation.

“Wallowa Lake 55×55” features Gilbert’s experiments, challenges and successes along this three-year journey.

Gilbert has a bachelor’s from Eastern Oregon University and a BFA in graphic design from Oregon State University. She grew up in La Grande — with a year-long hiatus at age 8 to Paris, France — and has lived in Enterprise for the last 20 years.

Her long career in graphic design includes over 100 regional clients, permanent exhibits for the Wallowology! Natural History Discovery Center in Joseph, and two permanent exhibits for the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture. She has volunteered teaching art in schools and camps across the region.

She said a highlight is a five-month animation project in 2021 with Enterprise sixth graders, which led to a six-minute animated short film “Wallowa Lake – the REAL Story,” which then turned into a children’s book.

Gilbert has written and/or illustrated other children’s books, most recently illustrations for “The Word Gobblers” by Catherine Matthias.