The impacts of climate change can seem distant, but a group of artists hopes a series of art exhibits can help bridge the gap between the public and scientists who are studying the issue. The artists are creating visual art, performance pieces and written works — all on the subject of climate change.

The first of four exhibits opens at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Jefferson Nature Center, located at 2931 S. Pacific Highway, Medford.

The Jefferson Nature Center is coordinating the series of exhibits, which is titled "Shifting Patterns: Preparing for Unsettled Days."

The artists have been sifting through a scientific report on the expected impacts of climate change in Southern Oregon, as well as talking to scientists at the National Center for Conservation Science and Policy in Ashland.

The center promotes intact ecosystems, clean water and climate change preparation. It was formed in 2006 by merging the regional office of the World Wildlife Fund and Headwaters, an Ashland environmental organization.

Storyteller and painter Zoe Alowan said the report on local impacts of climate change can be difficult for the general public to absorb.

"Scientists always try to be exact and to not exaggerate and to be careful. A lot of people don't want to wade through that. With art, there's an opportunity for the public to access it," she said.

A resident of the Applegate Valley, Alowan said she is concerned about predictions that climate change will bring more wildfires and smoke to the area, and also reduce snowpacks that many communities rely upon for water.

While learning about climate change, Alowan visited local vernal pools with a scientist to see endangered fairy shrimp. She plans to do a performance piece about the shrimp.

Ashland artist Bruce Bayard created a long image reflecting his feelings on climate change. Reading the panel from left to right, the left side shows a photo of a mountain overlaid with pale green organic-looking swirls. But in the middle, the image becomes murky and dark, with symbols covering the photo beneath. As the image progresses to the right, mountains emerge again, seeming to represent hope for the future.

Bayard said the middle section represents the chaos of climate change.

"Climate change seems to be happening now faster than scientists' models had predicted. I wanted to convey some of that chaos that is happening now and imminently," he said.

Writer Althea Godfrey of Medford said she learned that the habitat range of Douglas fir trees — long a staple for local lumber mills — will shift higher up mountains and further to the north as climate change heats up forests. That will have impacts on the local economy. The trees also will be weakened and prone to insect infestations and wildfire.

Godfrey has prepared a poem about Douglas fir trees.

Ann DiSalvo of Ashland hopes to reach a younger generation with a comic book about climate change and lifestyle choices.

Symbols from around the world will adorn a mandala created by Ashlander Karin Onkka.

The life cycle of butterflies inspired Shoshanah Dubiner of Ashland to begin a painting of butterflies that is a metaphor for how humans can respond to climate change.

Dubiner said caterpillars are voracious eaters that can destroy plants if they are not in balance with the ecosystem. She said when caterpillars form cocoons, their bodies dissolve except for a few parts like the brain. Then they reform and emerge as butterflies.

"Human society has to go through a kind of dissolution of the way it has been and then emerge in a new way," Dubiner said.

Cindy Deacon Williams, a fisheries biologist with the center, met with artists to tell them about the predicted impacts of climate change globally and in the Rogue River Basin.

"I'm definitely interested to see how they interpret it and where they go with it. Art is one of the primary ways we pull information into the social psyche. It's a way to get the information into the non-scientific side of the brain and understand it at a gut level," she said.

The artists are receiving money from a grant that the Jefferson Nature Center won from the Oregon Arts Commission, said Jefferson Nature Center Executive Director Susan Cross, who wrote the grant.

The center is a nonprofit nature and science education organization that works with artists to create locally relevant art and literature.

The art, writings and performances will be different at each of the four "Shifting Patterns: Preparing for Unsettled Days" exhibits. Jeff Golden will facilitate a conversation among artists and visitors at three of the four exhibits.

After Saturday's exhibit, the next one will be held at 7 p.m. on Aug. 1 at the Jefferson Nature Center. The third and fourth exhibits will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 19 and Oct. 10 at the Medford Library, 205 S. Central Ave.

Other participants are Jim Chamberlain, John Fisher-Smith, Pepper Trail, Barbara Massey, Vanessa Nowitsky, Jan Pinhero, Kandy Scott, Thalia Truesdell and Marlene Warneke. For more information, call 282-8577 or visit www.jeffersonnaturecenter.org.

Staff writer Vickie Aldous can be reached at 479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.