SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (September 7, 2023) Representatives from Sonoma County Tourism, the Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport, and Creative Sonoma gathered at the airport this past Thursday for the unveiling of a three-panel art installation by local artist Marissa Moroz. The piece, titled “A Place Worth Visiting Is A Place Worth Protecting,” celebrates the connection between art, nature, and responsible travel. The artwork was commissioned by Sonoma County Tourism, the region’s Destination Stewardship Organization, through Creative Sonoma’s ArtSurround program, with input and guidance from the Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport. The artwork is strategically located in the airport’s new arrivals corridor, so that all visitors flying commercially into Sonoma County are exposed to the artwork’s responsible travel message as they first enter the destination.
The three 12’x7′ panels feature geographic representations of Sonoma County, from its rolling vineyards to its rugged coastline and towering redwoods. The slogan “A place worth visiting is a place worth protecting” is overlain across the first two panels.
“I’m delighted with how this project turned out,” said Devin McConnell, Sustainability and Climate Initiatives Manager at Sonoma County Tourism. “Marrisa’s stunning work is sure to capture the attention of passersby, and perhaps inspire a preservationist approach to experiencing Sonoma County’s natural environment.”
The pieces incorporate recycled and repurposed materials that have been integrated into the scenery. “I knew from the start I wanted to incorporate commonly discarded items into the pieces as an invitation to think about other ways this kind of waste can be repurposed by serving as an example,” said artist Marissa Moroz. “I also wanted the objects to not necessarily be recognizable from their ‘natural’ states and be transformed into different elements in each piece: the leaves on the grapevines, grass and flowers on the cliffside, and woven into the branches and forest floor.”
The base layers of the artwork were drawn with charcoal and then layered with acrylic paint before the application of recycled elements. “Most of 2021 into 2022, I was spending a lot of time with an incredible cohort of photographers and artists experimenting with digital artworks,” said Moroz. “A handful of these artists were making collage art through layering photographs and objects using tools like Photoshop and Illustrator. This sparked my interest in using similar techniques to generate the blueprint for what I would create. Without having insight into these other artists’ processes, I would not have had the confidence to experiment on a project in this format.”
“Sonoma County Tourism extends its thanks to Marissa for her great work, to Kristen Madsen with Creative Sonoma for facilitating the project, and to Jon Stout with the Sonoma County Airport for hosting it,” said Claudia Vecchio, President and CEO of Sonoma County Tourism. “It’s a lovely piece with a wonderful sentiment that we hope travels will take to heart.”
High resolution photos from the art unveiling can be accessed here.
Media Contact:
Birgitt Vaughan
Director of Public Relations
Sonoma County Tourism
bvaughan@sonomacounty.com
707-522-5826
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About Sonoma County Tourism:
Sonoma County Tourism (SCT) is the region’s official Destination Stewardship Organization. Through a multi-channel sales and marketing program, the organization promotes Sonoma County as a global visitor and meetings destination, where diversity thrives, and everyone is welcome. Stewardship and Sustainability remain at the forefront of everything Sonoma County Tourism does. As the nation’s first Destination Stewardship Organization, located in the most sustainable wine region in the world, SCT strives to create and adopt best practices aimed at protecting and preserving our destination for generations to come. To learn more about SCT’s commitment to sustainability, visit sonomacounty.com/sustainable.
About Marissa Moroz:
Marissa Moroz is a multi-disciplinary artist and technologist residing in Northern California. She has spent the last four years falling in love with watercolor and other paint mediums through capturing the ever-changing scenes of the surrounding landscapes of California. Most recently, she has been experimenting with lines, motion, and the impact light and time has on art and the ever-evolving environment around us. Learn more at marissamoroz.com.
About Creative Sonoma’s ArtSurround Program:
ArtSurround is a collaborative effort launched in 2022 among the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to enhance Sonoma County’s creative vitality by supporting artists and infusing the arts into our public realm. The program engages businesses and public agencies that endeavor to enhance community livability through the arts, and fosters public imagination by supporting artists who work at the intersection of inspiration and effective community arts engagement. The program engages an Artist Cohort and Advocate Cohort working on parallel tracks to increase create and place more public art in communities across Sonoma County. Learn more at creativesonoma.org/artsurround.
About Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport:
Located in the heart of Northern California’s world-renowned Wine Country, the Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport is the only airport that offers scheduled air service into the North Bay region. Daily nonstop flights include: Alaska Airlines to Los Angeles, Burbank, Orange County, San Diego, Portland and Seattle; American Airlines to Phoenix and Dallas; Avelo Airlines to Burbank, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, and Redmond/Bend. All airlines offer a wide range of connecting flights to destinations across the continental U.S., Mexico and beyond.
Offering a hassle-free experience with shorter lines and an easier commute for North Bay residents, STS also features convenient ground transportation, easy and affordable parking with 2-hours free and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, Alaska Airlines’ Wine Flies Free program, the on-site Tap & Pour, Apple Spice, Crush Wine Bar, and Costeaux on the Go. For additional airport information, visit flySTS.com and follow Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport (STS) on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
