In the Gallery December 3rd – 23rd, 2021
2021 Annual Holiday Market
Exhibition: December 3rd – 23rd, 2021
Opening Reception:
December 3rd, 2021
5:00 – 7:00pm
Columbia Center for the Arts is excited to present our annual Holiday Small Works Market!
Our gallery and retail space will be full of smaller works by local and regional artists. From ornaments and holiday cards, to original paintings, ceramics, limited edition prints, jewelry, and wearable items – we have everyone on your list covered. CCA is taking extra precautions with sanitation and is a low-traffic option for your holiday shopping.
Artists
Stephanie Delgado – My name is Stephanie Delgado, I am a native of the Pacific Northwest and a resident of the Columbia River Gorge. I have a passion for artistic creation and a true fascination with the natural world.
As a little girl, I enjoyed anything that I could make myself, curiously beginning to forge my path as an artist.
My interests expand into multiple mediums wherein I am able to explore the world through color, shape, texture, and beauty. My work is a celebration of nature so I can simply marvel at creation. I love any opportunity to learn and teach as I delight in connecting with my community~
Find more of Stephanie’s works here: sunshine-creations-nw.myshopify.com
Follow on Facebook: @sunshinecreationsnw
Follow on Instagram: @sunshinecreatress
Dana Squires – “Music is the space between the notes” – Claude Debussy
My work is about the sensual shape of a fig and haikus about persimmons, and the space between. I am interested in flattened shapes and the relationship between shapes, the shape of the space between shapes, the negative space, and the tension of the shapes and the edge of the image. With the emphasis on shape, my work is abstract in many ways. It has always been representational. Still-lives are a way to bring focus and meaning to everyday objects. The fruit is iconic. I like the simple domestic “everyday” aspect – a bowl of fruit on a table, a patterned tablecloth. Textiles, decoration, and the culinary arts are the vernacular artistic life of women across cultures, and often their only creative outlet. Food and the table, this is women’s work. This work is uncomplicated, the music between the notes.
Find more of Dana’s works here: danasquires.com
Teresa Knight – As an artist, I prefer to work with realistic and surrealistic subjects. Drawing, painting, sculpture, and multimedia are some of the creative disciplines that I enjoy. Nature fills me with inspiration and I pour that into my art. The subject chooses the media; whether it be 2D or 3D each has a unique facet of expression.
Find more of Teresa’s works here: artnphotos.com
Follow Teresa on Facebook here.
Shayleen EagleSpeaker – I am a Wasco/Warm Springs member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and my work reflects the style of the Columbia River Plateau Tribes. In 2014 I received my BFA in Printmaking at the University of Oregon.
My work is primarily Native American beadwork and jewelry. The medium is mixed media and primarily with glass beads and natural beads such as shells and sometimes stones, bone, or wood. The beadwork appliqué is finished with deer hide leather.
In my work, I explore my favorite design elements which are line drawing and bold colors along with my favorite content themes which reflect my Tribal cultural heritage and my tribe’s historical relationship with nature in the environments of Columbia River Gorge, in the Cascade Range, and within the greater Pacific Northwest.
Find more of Shayleen’s works here on Instagram @dentaliumandglass
Kristine Pollard – Kristine is a local fiber artist from White Salmon, Washington. Kristine’s artist studio and featured art are located at Arrowleaf Work//Shop at 150 East Jewett Blvd in White Salmon, Washington.
She is a self-taught artist and began her textile journey over twenty-five years ago. Her work ranges from functional art to visual art and also wearable art.
“My exploration with plants hangers started only a few years ago as we moved the Arrowleaf Work//Shop to a new location down the street in White Salmon. With the open space, tall ceilings, and big beams, we dreamt of decorating this space with many hanging plants, adding beauty and health to not only our new space but also to share with the community as well. This was my Inspiration, and I fell in love with plants and making macramé plant hangers at that time. The feeling still resonates.
Creating bold plant hanging pieces, as it makes a statement of art on its own, as well as embellishes the design in a home with plant life, brings me great joy on so many levels.”
Find more of Kristine’s works in Instagram: @Kristine_pollard_fiberart
Follow Kristine on Facebook: @kristine.pollardstein
Karen Schoenfeld – I find the experience of feeling movement through a painting to be one of the world’s beautiful miracles. I try to tap into that miracle as much as possible in my work. I can be found most days painting and drawing in Hood River.
Find more of Karen’s works on Instagram @karen.schoenfeld.art
Jill Kieffer – Some say I have an obsession with knitting! Maybe so. All I know is that I am in heaven when I’m immersed in anything to do with fiber!! I love going into our local yarn shop, Knot Another Hat, and feasting on all the different yarns, colors, and textures along with the wonderful companionship of other yarn lovers. I spend hours cruising on Ravelry.com looking at patterns and being inspired by what others are creating. And there’s the constant learning of new knitting techniques and creating my own patterns. But nothing beats sitting by the fire and knitting, with a cuppa tea and my kitty beside me. Oh, the colors and how they interact with each other, and the rhythmic clicking of my knitting needles! I love the squishy, yummy textures of various yarns, from locally sourced alpaca and wool to exotic camel, yak, cashmere, and musk ox. I appreciate how different yarns can produce such an array of fabric for warm hats, airy wraps, and durable sweaters. You see, there is a practical side of me too. Nothing like functional art I say!! When you purchase a garment from me, please know that I had oodles of fun knitting it, and, that you are enabling my obsession! Knitting has been a saving grace for me during these covid times indeed.
Jordan Kim – Having grown up among artists and playing in the creeks and woods around her home, Jordan Kim has always had a deep love for both art and the outdoors. She holds an advanced degree in environmental management and worked for many years as an ecologist before turning her attention full time to her art business. Jordan makes paper collages with a twist. People often describe her work as “painting with paper.” She uses repurposed paper (junk mail, magazines, packaging, etc.) to create intricate collages and often incorporates hidden messages into her art. Her mission is to inspire us to honor our connection to each other and the natural world. Jordan lives in Parkdale, Oregon near Mt. Hood, in the heart of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. You can learn more about Jordan, her artwork, and classes on her website at www.foundandrewound.com.
Find more of Jordan’s works at foundandrewound.com
Virgil Harper – Attended Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. Graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Was a cinematographer/director in the film industry for over 40 years working in Los Angeles and around the world with projects ranging from features to documentaries to commercials. Still, photography has been an important part 0f my life and I still enjoy going on photo outings. Photography for me is more than just taking pictures. The images have to evoke some special feeling in me and hopefully for those viewing them.
Find more of Virgil’s works here: fineartamerica.com (look up his name)
Ami Beaver – My work is inspired by nature, history, field journals, and maps. I love the journals of explorers and scientists because I am delighted by the discovery. As a book artist, I make work that uses or
references either the structural or conceptual properties of books. I practice the primary art forms of the book: bookbinding, papermaking, and letterpress printing. I like to think of the book as a contained narrative – meaning books offer limitless possibilities as homes for our stories.
Find more of Ami’s works here: bigwoodspress.com
Levant Karayalim – Levant was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and moved to the United States in the late 1980s. At age 25, while living in NYC, he restored 14th-15th-16th French and Flemish Medieval tapestries that now reside in museums and residences. This talent has transformed into how is art is displayed. His works are inspired by Neo-concrete and Minimalists art movements. Levant’s pieces are created from environmentally friendly and repurposed materials. Water-based acrylics and glue, corrugated board, cloth, canvas, hand-cut repurposed mirrors, steel, and wood. His works are 3 dimensional, focusing on textures, vibrant colors, and repetitive patterns; repurposing material to create unique pieces of art.
Find more of Levant’s works here: levantk.blogspot.com
Follow Levant on Instagram: @Levant.k
Tom Bottman – There is just something about working with clay that I love – the feel of it, the smell of it, the looks of it all soft and pliable and asking to be made into something. I find it to be the ideal medium for working with texture and pattern. In my work, I use found material for overall textures, handmade pattern rollers, and some commercial rollers. The pieces are finished with stains and underglazes that are washed back, leaving the color in the depressions.
I was introduced to clay in college, graduating from the University of Utah with a BA in English literature and a minor in art, taking lots of pottery classes with Dorothy Bearnson. After graduation, my wife and I made our living for 18 years as full-time potters, working with the American Craft Council shows in San Francisco, Dallas, and Baltimore. During that time we sold in art and craft galleries around the country. Our home studio was in Salt Lake City, Utah. We gave up the handmade pottery business in 1988, and developed several lines of commercial stoneware, based on our designs, that we had made in Japan. That business grew into a giftware and greeting card business that we sold in 2015. We retired to Hood River and I set up my pottery studio again. I am loving it!
Find more of Tom’s works here: icyroadpottery.com
Merilee Cooper – Merrilee, a retired school teacher, has spent most of her adult life learning and experimenting with different art mediums. She has painted with oils, watercolor, and pastels, and taken occasional classes in stained glass, weaving, and jewelry making. She has resided in the Gorge since 1979, raised her family here, and has enjoyed the beauty and recreational opportunities the Gorge offers.
Merrilee began her history as a ceramic artist in 2001. She works with earthenware and stoneware clay and forms her vessels by wheel throwing or slab building. She uses various techniques to finish her pots. Hand painting or spraying underglazes on the greenware allows her to vividly represent various paintings and designs on the clay before the bisque firing. A combination of hand painting greenware and/or applying various overglazes during the glaze firing produces colorful, unique finished pieces.
Diane A. Archer – I was born and spent most of my life in Ohio, where I received a BFA from The University of Akron, and an MFA from Kent State University. In 1999, a residency at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology brought me to Oregon. I immediately fell in love with the wild nature of the Pacific Northwest’s mountains, rivers, forests, and ocean beaches and have lived here ever since. In 2007, I was honored to be interviewed on the PBS show, Oregon Art Beat. Today, I live and work on Cooper Mountain, just outside of Portland, Oregon.
In my recent mixed media work, I explore emotional, spiritual, and physical aspects of place, using paper maps, local newspapers, drawings, quotes, and found objects. The work is influenced by my interests in Deep Ecology and Bioregionalism.
All of my work is meant to acknowledge and celebrate our connections to the world around us and the world within us. I believe that the most important issue of our time is the task of seeing our world, and all things in it, as an interconnected whole, of which the human species is but one small part.
Find more of Diane’s works here: dianearcher.com
Heather Marlow – I have been an artist in the gorge for over 20 years and work in fiber, jewelry, and my favorite medium, soft pastels.
What drew me to pastels is the luminosity you can capture in the layering. Having other colors peek out from underneath the layers can add a sense of excitement and vibration to the painting that I love.
What motivates and inspires me is the ever-changing landscape in the gorge and Plein air painting. I love going back to a spot after the season’s change, it becomes a new world of color and new challenges to address in a familiar composition.
I believe that through art it is possible to point out the importance of environmental stewardship. Through speaking to emotion and passion for nature you can unlock a sense of freedom and awe at the natural world around us.
Find more of Heather’s works on Instagram.
Liz Dexter – Line, shape, form, space, value, color + texture: having focused on these key elements of composition over my thirty+ years as a practicing architect, I’m tapping into this experience to create authentic, intuitive artwork.
Exploring depth and transparency using additive and subtractive layers within a limited color palette, my mixed media abstract paintings typically integrate bold marks, whether concealed beneath, etched into, or floating on the surface.
Inspired by the continually transforming world around us by weather and age [think crumbling stucco, rusting metal, peeling paint and vine-covered walls – the built environment being consumed by nature], I layer multiple materials and then scrape, sand, scratch, slice, and/or stitch to unveil surprises or to join components in interesting ways. I am also captivated by organic, lyrical linework, which has been a breath of fresh air after decades of working within the precise and rigid confines of AutoCAD.
Understanding materials and methods have been central to my architectural practice – delving into an array of media and techniques similarly lights me up in my studio. Untethered from codes and budgets, the freedom of art-making helps me to explore what’s most important to me: finding beauty and joy within the sometimes translucent and often opaque layers of our unfolding experience. The iridescent silvers that emerge over time, along with accrued scrapes, scars, imperfections, and unexpected surprises, bring depth, texture, and richness to art and to our lives.
Find more of Liz’s works here: lizdexter.com
Follow Liz on Instagram @liz.dexter
Debora Lorang – Finding beauty in things that are broken or decaying intrigues me. It’s a personal challenge to use discarded and natural objects to make something inspirational. I beachcomb to find most of my art supplies. These weathered fragments are my muse; relics with a past that I resurrect and conform into my unique artwork. As of recently, I have returned to sculpting and I am adding sculpted pieces to my recycled artwork.
Find more of Debora’s works here: bradlorang.com
Follow Debora on Facebook
Don Bailey – In my native Hoopa language, kiwhliw means “he who paints.” First and foremost, I am a painter. I create complex, richly colorful compositions. I am also Native American, raised on the Hoopa Valley Reservation in Northern California.
I’ve been featured on the Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) television show Art Beat and in Oregon ArtsWatch and have worked in the collection of the Hallie Ford Museum (Salem, OR), State Library of Oregon (Salem, OR), the collection of the Chemawa Indian School (Salem, OR), Riverfront Park (Salem, OR), RB Ravens Gallery (Ranchos de Taos, NM) and private collections. I am a member of Blackfish Gallery, an artist-owned and operated gallery in Portland’s Pearl district, and work out of my studio in Portland, Oregon.
The oil paintings in this collection are based on images found on ancient Mimbre Pottery. The Mimbre people were primarily sedentary people who, from 1000-1150 AD, lived in pueblo-like villages in what is now the American Southwest. Mimbre pottery was monochromatic (generally black on white) and painted with images of the animals, birds, and insects that gave the Mimbre people both physical and spiritual sustenance. Pots were used to carry water and to store seeds and the corn and beans they grew. While it is most common to find pottery with one image, some pieces depicted multiple images including humans and human-animal hybrids, which we believe might tell stories of transformation and affirm Mimbre’s belief in the connections among all living and spiritual beings.
Find more of Don’s works here: hupapaint.com
Follow Don on Instagram @hupapaint
Nancy Houfek Brown – Nancy Houfek Brown is an established Oregon artist whose works are exhibited throughout the region. In addition to the Columbia Center for the Arts, her current paintings are on display at Art on Oak (210 Oak St., Hood River) and Cathedral Ridge Winery (4200 Post Canyon Road, Hood River.) Fifteen of her large works were exhibited at Portland International Airport from August 2016 – July 2017. Recent paintings have been shown at Verum Ultimum Gallery in Portland as well as having been seen in galleries in Texas, California, Ohio, Colorado, Minnesota, and Massachusetts, where she was a juried member of the Cambridge Artists’ Association. Nancy’s early art training began at the Art Institute of Chicago. From 1992 – 1997 she studied with Herman Rowan, Carl Bethke, and Tom Cowette at the University of Minnesota, and from 1998 – 2001 she worked in watercolor with Bici Petit-Baron at the Radcliffe Landscape Design Program in Cambridge, MA. Her work as an oil painter is greatly influenced by Denver artist, Mark Daniel Nelson.
“When I first arrived in Hood River in the mid-90s, I was in awe of the drama of the geology, the water, the orchards and vineyards, the snow-capped mountains, the ever-changing sky. I have an infinite number of views to play with on my canvas, but the river has been the focus of my work in many pieces.”
Find more of Nancy’s works here: nhb-artwork.com
Sue Allen – Sue Allen is a printmaker (screenprint) living near Brightwood, Oregon. Since 1981 she has made the southwest forest foothills of Mt Hood her home, exploring the area for over 40 years. She enjoys nature in all her seasons and is creative and productive. Her artwork is distinguished, refined, elegant, and unusual.
Soon after receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree from The Cooper Union in New York City, she left the urban environment for more rural landscapes. In the early 70s, she traveled overland from Europe to Nepal and trekked a month towards the Mount Everest base camp. Mountains are always calling.
Find more of Sue’s works here: sueallenstudio.ink
Mary Brossman – Living, playing & working in the wild and beautiful Columbia River Gorge, I am constantly inspired by my outdoor surroundings and the unique students I teach in both Art & Science. I continuously use these inspirations to explore new mediums whether it be printing, gouache paintings on reclaimed materials, stickers, etc. As I wander the wilder into enchanted forests and to scenic peaks for inspiration, I aim to create bright and shining representations of magical things and places to share with my community.
Molly Holmlund is an artist and mom of two living with her family in White Salmon, Washington. With nature as her muse she collaborates with and incorporates natural materials every chance she gets. Discovering the world of making ink four years ago was an obvious path to follow, part science, part art, she feels making ink is a beautiful exploration of nature. Molly enjoys sharing this love of nature and art, and teaches painting and ink making to all ages. Molly has done several murals around the Gorge, involving kids and community members when the project allows.
April Griffith – April has been creating with various elements since she was a child. She plays with quite a few mediums, but her works on display here are of a handful of her whimsical illustrations laser etched onto wood to create rustic ornaments that she hopes capture some of the magic and whimsy of the season. She also has some of her newest loves on display in the form of stained glass. What started as an admiration for her dad’s work in stained glass turned into a pandemic hobby and now borders on an obsession. On most days she can be found working on something glass-related in her garage. Finding new outlets for creativity is something she finds a thrill in and she’s quite sure she will be developing current skills and looking for new ways to create for the rest of her life.
Find more of April’s works here: coddiwomplecreative.com
Mike McLaughlin – Decades ago, my first attempt to center a small piece of clay captured my interest in ceramics. The attention to detail required and the feeling of creating functional art still inspires me. Thirty years later, I am still making hand-thrown ceramics.
You can find more of Mike’s works at Cavelion Studio, which is located on Burdoin Mountain near White Salmon, WA, in the Columbia River Gorge.
Polly Wood – Even before I launched a 17-year career as a cake designer and pastry chef, ceramics occupied a special place in my artsy mind. Ceramics certainly inspired my cake forms, and working with a malleable sugar dough known as fondant was reminiscent of hand-building with clay. I knew that someday I would switch from the sugarcane fields back to what lies beneath – clay!
From years of building multi-tiered wedding cakes, I definitely know my way around a cylinder. For now, that is where my hands naturally go. Vase forms were an obvious starting point, inspired my love of gardening, nature, and a need to put my pickings in water. I drink a lot of coffee so mugs and tumblers are my other favorite forms to build. I enjoy balancing the randomness of wavy shapes and earthy textures of clay with my simple and colorful surface designs – some designs are drawn with glaze pencils while others are made with a growing collection of my own hand-carved stamps.
Find more of Polly’s works on Instagram @pollypwood
Ned Widberg – Ned Wiberg is passionate about creating unique jewelry that utilizes the beauty of our natural world. His love for artistry originated 20 years ago when he built his log home in Talkeetna, Alaska. Upon completion he continued wood-working and exploring ways to create, leading him to his current passion, jewelry making. Each item features reclaimed wood encased in hand-dyed resin that is carefully shaped, finished and sealed by him. While several pieces may come from the same tree, no two jewelry items are ever the same.
Find more of Ned’s works here: tundradesignsjewelry.com
Follow Ned on Instagram @tundradesignsjewelry
Serena Smith – While Serena Smith is best known for her sculptural lampwork glass beads and glasswork she has recently taken a left turn into weaving, specializing in 100% cotton towels. Her hope is to bring a bit of joy to the mundane tasks of everyday life. Born and raised in Yakima, she is a crafter, artist, and teacher living in The Dalles, OR.
Allison McClay – I am an illustrator, muralist and painter born and raised in Oregon. Though the rich colors and wild beauty of this region have always influenced my work, I am new to painted landscapes.
This piece began as an illustration for Washington State Parks to show what the mouth of the Columbia looked like before a jetty was built at its Northern edge in 1917, completely transforming the coastline. I became fascinated with the idea that people have been working for over a century now to try to make this river mouth safer, yet it remains one of the most treacherous and unpredictable river entrances to navigate today.
Find more of Allison’s works here: allisonmcclay.com
Jenny Loughmiller – I am a mixed media artist, teacher and gratitude advocate with a passion for connecting women to the utter beauty of their inner (and outer) landscapes.
I love to explore the place of overlap – the rich spot of interplay that happens when two different things connect: body and spirit, self and other, fear and hope, water and land.
When I’m not in the studio or classroom you can find me doing all the tasky bits of running a family of 6, running, hiking, kayaking, and dreaming up “you must be crazy” adventures (ask me about the time our family walked 550 miles across Spain).
I believe that you and I have just one wild and precious life and we must live it accordingly – and I believe that art is a perfect vehicle for helping us know just how to go about doing it.
Find more of Jenny’s works here: jennyloughmiller.com
Follow Jenny on Instagram @jennyloughmiller