Betty Bastai aims to build a bridge between humans and nature with an art installation she will call “Mother & Child.”

Bastai is visiting public gathering places on Whidbey to explain her project and to encourage islanders to send in photocopies of family portraits for incorporation into the work.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, Aug. 31.

So far, reactions are mixed. “Some people are puzzled,” she said.

That’s OK with Bastai. She wants her artwork to startle, to raise questions and get people talking.

Bastai has toured local farmers markets.

“It’s been great to get out there and talk to people,” she said.

She explained what an “installation” is to folks unfamiliar with this art form.

Simply stated, it’s like designing a stage set or a separate environment.

This mode of expression enables Bastai to combine multiple mediums, of which visitors to her latest project will soon become aware.

In “Mother & Child” Bastai connects humans to the animal kingdom through the creatures that live in water and salt, two elements essential to all life. She will arrange the images, scatter salt and play recordings of orcas’ vocalizations during her presentation.

“The creation of this artwork will bring people from different backgrounds and ages together,” she said in press notes.

“Mother & Child” will be open for viewing during the Whidbey Island Studio Tour Sept. 24 and Sept. 25 at the Rock House, 811 S.E. Pasek in Oak Harbor.

Bastai is a globe trotter whose concerns for the environment and for art brought her to Whidbey.

She was born in Modena, Northern Italy, in 1962. She moved to the Republic of Ireland in 1989 and in 1991 she traveled over the water to Scotland. She attended Edinburgh College of Art from 1994 until 2000 when she earned a Master’s Degree in Painting.

Then she moved to the U.S. For a year she worked at the Gifford Pinchot National Forest as a Cultural Resource Technician in the field of Forest Archeology.

She married American born musician Sam Osteen in Coupeville in March 2003. They now live in the Rock House, 811 S.E.Pasek in Oak Harbor.

Bastai’s work has been exhibited in Europe and other parts of Washington. Her photos are shown in several museums and visitor centers in Northern Ireland and Scotland. She collaborated with artists and residents in productions of community art projects and children plays in Scotland.

Skagit Valley College will feature an installation by Bastai Sept. 19 through Oct. 21 in the art gallery on the Mount Vernon campus. She will give a talk on on her art installation titled “Water — a mixed media installation,” at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 7 in Room 101 of Ford Hall. An artist’s reception will follow, with husband Stan Osteen playing a soundscape on his electric guitar as a backdrop.

Installations are not new. They are an art phenomena that’s been happening since the 1960s. The work is transitory.

“That it is temporary is an essential part of the work,” she said.