Arts

Red Chair Gallery Presents Tammy McCullough ~ Soft Sculpture Fiber Artist

by JULIA KENNEDY COCHRAN — Red Chair Gallery

Tammy McCullough. Photo courtesy of Red Chair Gallery River Otter by Tammy McCullough

Tammy McCullough has brought an exciting new art form to Central Oregon called soft sculpture. Although it is known in other parts of the world, soft sculpture fiber art is fairly unknown in this country. McCullough’s work is showcased at Red Chair Gallery in January.

Her small sculptures often feature animals in a woodsy tableau. They are created by forming a basic animal structure with wire and then felting layers of fibers over it with a barbed needle. The first layer of core wool fiber wraps the structure securely; for the second layer, she fashions muscle shapes with more core fiber. All this is then topped with a finishing blend of merino, alpaca or other specialty fibers in appropriate colors. Expressive eyes and mouths are tiny felted pieces of wool needled into the faces. She completes the tableau with felted flora, such as the cattails in the photo of the otter shown here. Born on a 3,200-acre cattle ranch in Nebraska, McCullough moved to Oregon in the fourth grade, landing in Eugene where her parents owned a printing business. She married and spent many years in Pendleton, raising three sons and working for the Pendleton school district. She and her husband and youngest son moved to Bend in 2005 and she worked for a financial investment advisor for 10 years here before retiring. She had dabbled over the years in crafts including stained glass and quilting and one day came across some photos of soft sculpture felting. She decided to give it a try, bought a beginner kit online and has been hooked ever since. Thanks to the web and Zoom, she has taken online tutorials and classes with established fiber sculptors as far away as Maryland and New Zealand. She named her enterprise Chickadee Creations By Tammy.

McCullough buys most of her materials — wool roving, batts and locks — online but is finding some local sources such as Crescent Moon Alpaca Ranch in Terrebonne, where she obtains alpaca fiber. She often washes, dries and cards the materials herself before she even begins a project. She hand-blends dyed pieces of fiber to get just the right color for an animal’s coat. In order to make her creatures look lifelike, she carefully studies animal photos on the Internet to discern their musculature and expressions. While each piece has been created with realism, a bit of “woolen whimsy” has been added too. Each piece “definitely has a personality all its own,” she says.

Recently, McCullough has begun experimenting with making twodimensional pieces representing the Metolius River and other local scenes. “I am constantly learning and experimenting with new fiber, color blending and technique,” she says. “Even if I live to be 100, I will only have scratched the surface of this ancient and amazing art.”

Etsy: ChickadeeCreationsOR chickadeecreationsbytammy@gmail.com

Art in the High Desert Returns

2023 Welcomes Back the Premier Central Oregon Art Show

by NOAH NELSON — A&E Feature Writer

Show site at Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center. Photos courtesy of David Bjurstrom

Wearable Fiber by Karen Gelbard, Pacific City, Oregon Ceramics by Brian O’Neill, Bellingham Washington Printmaking by Helen Gotlib, Dexter, Michigan Painting by Richard Harrington, Oregon City, Oregon

The popular juried fine art and crafts show, Art in the High Desert, had gained national recognition since its humble founding back in 2008. The show was an annual event that brought plenty of paintings, jewelry, sculptures, woodwork and so much more to the banks of the Deschutes River in Bend’s Old Mill District up until 2020; the year the show had to be put on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, after that three-year hiatus, the show has plans to return in late August of 2023, bigger and better than ever. One of the show’s original founders, Dave Fox, said that for the show to return, it has to return with the same quality and standards that made it nationally renowned in the first place; no corner could be cut.

“We built this as an artist driven, carefully juried show that could be a good way to draw in big artists from the East Coast and further,” Dave said. “We juried it tough and kept a strict criteria, in terms of what we’re looking for. We set the bar real high and maintain that high standard.”

That standard of quality made Art in the High Desert the tenth ranked art show in the nation for art sales in 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Art Fair Sourcebook, while the show still scored highly years prior to that. This art show has had a committed and active base of buyers since its inception, making this an important date for many artists around the nation and the world. Looking exclusively at the Pacific Northwest, it is tough to find another show that can compete with the sales numbers traditionally seen at Art in the High Desert.

With the COVID hiatus, Dave and his wife, Carla, the other founder

Wood Art by Matthew Hatala, Danielsville, Georgia

Jewelry by Carla Fox, Bend

of the show, had doubts whether they wanted to revamp the show or not.

“We had some promoters make us offers to come back, but many of them wanted in for the wrong reasons,” Dave said. “Our goal is not to gouge the artists for money; quite the opposite, we want to support them. All the artists have to make a living, so doing something like charging commission on each of their sales at the show didn’t feel fair, and we are firm on that.”

Dave and Carla, both jewelers by medium, attend many shows on the West Coast to showcase their work. It was at Art in the Pearl in Portland and a few other art showings where Dave and Carla would be approached by artists who wanted them to bring the show back, and it was this public support that inspired the duo to do just that, for the right reasons.

Now, the original founding duo have taken a backseat to allow for new leadership. Both Dave and Carla will remain involved on the board of directors, enthusiastically fulfilling other needs that the show has. Taking over directorship of Art in the High Desert will be the experienced art show artist David Bjurstrom.

The show is set to happen in a new venue, for the first time since its founding. Instead of the banks of the Deschutes in the Old Mill, the show will take place at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond; just a quick 15 minute drive from most of Bend. While the new venue lacks the ability to pull in random foot traffic from people exploring a touristy area like the Old Mill, it does actually hold many new benefits.

The Expo Center can hold significantly more artists and patrons, allowing for a spread out feeling that provides each of the 160 attending artists the ability to uniquely showcase their work. The show will take place outdoors, near a serene pond and a babbling stream that set the tone for a relaxing, art-filled weekend full of enlightening conversation and the perusing of countless stalls.

In light of the one downside mentioned earlier, Dave is optimistic that it will not affect the show. Due to the already impressive amount of buyers the show brings in, he’s not worried. If anything, the idea that most patrons will be there intentionally brings a new level of respect for the artists’ work, in that everyone there has come to appreciate the art and potentially make a purchase.

The show will take place from August 25-27 at the fairgrounds. As a show that is by artists, for artists, Art in the High Desert is entirely volunteer run. As a result, the show is always looking for more volunteers to assist in any way they can. If anyone is interested in volunteering or simply wants more information regarding the event, it is recommended to visit the event website.

Fiber Art by Lisa Kattenbraker, Olympia, Washington

Drawing & Painting by R. Michael Womack Langhorne, Pennsylvania

David Bjurstrom, Art in the High Desert Director

ArtintheHighDesert.com

Sunrise in the Village Streets

View from the Studio

Bend Artist Ken Marunowski

Named Associate Teacher & Program Administrator of the Painting School of Montmiral, France

by KENNETH MARUNOWSKI, Ph.D.

Following each academic year I taught professional writing at the University of Minnesota Duluth, my Department Head would ask if I’d like to continue teaching that summer to earn some extra cash. My unequivocal answer: No! I had other plans that included reviving my passion for painting and drawing. To implement these plans, I searched the web for painting schools in France, my “go to” place for art ever since I studied in Aix-en-Provence my junior year of college at the tender age of 20. First search engine hit: the Painting School of Montmiral located in southwest France about an hour northeast of Toulouse in a rural region known as the Tarn. Sounded good to me!

As I embarked on my journey to Castelnau de Montmiral, the petit 13th century village where the painting school is located, I had no idea the profound impact this school would have on my art and life. In 2008, my first summer at the school, I attended the second two-week course and did a bit of traveling thereafter. Incredibly encouraged by what I was learning and the artistic progress I was experiencing as well as absolutely smitten with the village itself and the region in general, I returned to the school in both 2009 and 2010, participating in both two-week courses and staying in France as long as possible, the full three months one is permitted without a Visa.

Returning to the States to teach professional writing courses that students begrudgingly attended paled in comparison to the rich artistic life I was experiencing in France. I was introduced to new ideas by the school’s founder and teacher, Francis Pratt, an incredibly kind and intelligent Englishman whose approach to painting and drawing unites principles of art and science, particularly techniques to move from accuracy to expression with concepts derived from the psychology of perception. I met new friends with whom I explored these ideas in both paintings and conversation. We shared meals, strolled the countryside and traveled to Mediterranean seaside towns like Collioure where Matisse and Derain founded Fauvism and to inland villages like Ceret where Soutine violently executed

his highly expressive canvases, some of my favorite representational works. I was hooked, and not just on France but on painting and drawing once again. My art spirit loudly called, and it wasn’t long before I left the university to pursue a fulltime career as an artist and art educator, a move that brought my wife Carly and me to Bend in 2015.

Fast-forward to 2020, the year that everything seemed to be put on pause or even rewind as we are all too aware. That summer I was to assist Francis Pratt at the Painting School of Montmiral, helping him with various tasks related to teaching and the practical organization of the studio and students. Due to the shutdown of international travel, we instead held Zoom meetings where we discussed Francis’s books: Drawing with Feeling, Painting with Light and Colour, and Fresh Perspectives on Creativity. Though extremely informative and productive, it wasn’t the same. I wanted to be out there working directly with Francis and the students, contemplating the tranquil, rolling countryside with brush in hand, listening, feeling and learning.

That opportunity came this past fall when Francis invited me and a painter from South Africa, both of us former, promising students of his and now full-time artists, to be his assistant teachers. Unfortunately, the South African painter couldn’t make it, and I was left to assist him on my own. At this point Francis had run the school for 35 stimulating years, and his plan was to shut it down following the 2022 courses. Not only did the students protest this discouraging news, but members of the community did as well. The Painting School of Montmiral was simply too important to so many and to the vitality and vibrancy of the village itself. Based on this collective urging, Francis decided not to close the school on one condition: that I agree to be his associate teacher and take care of the administrative work, an offer I could not refuse!

So if you’re looking to spend a couple weeks next early fall expanding your painting and drawing practice or developing it for the first time (yes, beginners welcome!) in a quaint, quiet and inspirational 13th century village surrounded by rolling fields of farmland and forest, please consider joining Francis and me at the Painting School of Montmiral! The first course runs from August 26-September 9 and the second from September 16-30. More information is available on the website: painting-school.com. Feel free to contact me personally with any inquiries at kennethmarunowski@gmail.com.

Further enticement: In addition to the beauty of Castelnau de Montmiral itself, there are many nearby medieval villages perched atop rocky cliff-sides, wonderful markets, abundant hiking trails and some ancient caves adorned with petroglyphs and pictographs to explore. The region is also very well known for its exquisite wines and local cheeses. Mais oui — it is France! painting-school.com

The Village of Castelnau de Montmiral

Presentation of Student Work A New Painter Presents Her Work. Photos by Ken Marunowski

Local Color ~ Jacqueline Newbold

Jacqueline Newbold has considered Bend her home since 1980. Inspired by Central Oregon’s kaleidoscopic sunsets over the years, Jacqueline Newbold finds ideas for her colorful watercolor paintings. She watches for cloudy evenings that give the promise of the most colorful skies.

“I enjoy watching our long, lingering sunsets as the sky turns from shades of blue into rosy pinks and purples with hints of sunshine bouncing off the clouds,” Jacqueline says. “With the beautiful Cascade mountains as the backdrop, the colors are changing so fast that it is a dynamic scene. I have been working on a series of paintings featuring the Cascade Mountains and their amazing sunsets. For the January exhibit at the Oxford Hotel, I wanted to focus on this beautiful local color.”

Jacqueline’s paintings have been featured in magazines and books such as Somerset Studio’s Art Journaling, Interweave Press’s Cloth Paper Scissors, Studios, the Cloth, Paper Scissors Book and Splash 17, the Best of Watercolor. She is a member of the Oregon Watercolor Society, the High Desert Art League and the Red Chair Gallery located in Bend.

Jacqueline shares her passion for watercolor painting and mixed-media art journaling by teaching at her private studio in Bend, and the Art & Soul Retreats in Portland and Colorado Springs. She has conducted watercolor workshops in France and Italy and her next painting adventure is to Orvieto, Italy in May 2024. If you are interested in joining her, email her at newbold0505@bendbroadband.com.

Jacqueline Newbold is the Oxford Hotel’s featured artist for January. newboldart.com

Jacqueline Newbold

Copper Moon Artisan

John Vale began his journey in art in 1992. He created water features and other pieces from stone. He began with displays of his work in several nurseries and moved on to a display in the renowned Lawrence Gallery.

He opened his first Gallery in Lake Oswego, Water Stone Accents, and featured several artists with a Bamboo Tea House as his office. He also made desktop fountains for Made in Oregon stores and other catalogs.

He moved on to featuring a few water features at the Street of Dreams homes and an interior fountain was featured in Home Magazine. He was also honored for his work at a black-tie dinner party for Clackamas Arts Alliance.

After a long illness, he sold his business in Lake Oswego, and moved on to Scottsdale, Arizona and then on to Florida. He opened his second Gallery in St. Augustine, and featuring many renowned artists. He had a beautiful outdoor garden gallery, as well as an indoor gallery. It was Water + Stone Gallery, and was featured in articles of Arbus Magazine and he and his wife, Collette, were honored as entrepeneur’s in the art community.

They had several artist openings of other artists, including Tom Torrens and Richard Warholic, and hosted the Arbus Magazines Anniversary Party. When the economic downturn happened in 2008, they had to close their doors. At this time, they returned to Oregon, and he did not resume his art until March 2022.

John moved to Central Oregon six years ago, and was touched by its beauty and wildlife. He now features many pieces of art, inspired by herons, dragonflies, quail, hummingbirds, swallows, owls and more. He mainly makes artwork that can be featured for indoors and gardens. They are constructed with stone and natural live edge Juniper, and Copper. He features the wildlife he so admires. He spends time creating new patinas on copper, producing beautiful creations of art. facebook.com/stonecopperandwood

John Vale | Photos courtesy of Copper Moon Artisan