17th Annual Spring Unveiling Arts Festival, May 5-7, 2017

Archimedes Gallery

Brin Levinson

In the war between man and the natural world, it would appear, judging from his unpeopled cityscapes, nature has won. Levinson’s worlds – washed in dour grays, ochre, and sepia brown – suggest the landscape before us is already becoming a relic. The brightest colors, the occasional burst of blue sky that breaks out from behind cloud-crowded sky, the flash of red graffiti on a rhino, illuminate the scene. Currently living in Portland, Oregon, you can see the influence Portland’s industrial areas and older architecture have had on Levinson. His “backyard” has become the subject of his art. A “new place” has emerged in his work based on the collision of urban landscapes and the natural world – in which the deer and the zebra roam, while wildebeests graze in the city’s Chinatown, and beneath an underpass in a switching yard, a tagged walrus, big as a train car, appears to rest his weary flippers.

David Rice

Much of David’s work focuses on the themes of nature and its personifying characteristics. Growing up in the mountains of Colorado, he has a special connection with the outdoors. David uses the natural landscape and its inhabitants as his primary subject matter. Melding together an organic style with graphic overlays, his style combines a mixture of the natural world with a geometric presence. The combination of the organic with the human engineered. This speaks to how instead of only a natural world existing, or one that is manmade, the two can coexist harmoniously if the dominant party yields to this cohesive existence. A balance is needed for both parties to survive. He currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon

Nicole Gustafsson

Nicole works as a full time illustrator specializing in traditional media paintings featuring everything from woodland characters and environments to pop culture based projects. She uses a stunning color palette to capture fantastical places portrayed. Her interest in wildlife and trees grew into a life-long passion of the natural world and continues to be a theme in her artwork.

Nathan Bennett

Using the patina process on bronze plates as his canvas, Nathan Bennett mines new veins in painting. His landscapes have a surreal quality, a sense of otherness, which is partly due to his unusual medium. Taking the chemicals normally used to finish bronze sculptures — the oxides, nitrates and acids — Bennett instead wields them as he would paint on an eighth-inch-thick sheet of silica bronze that becomes his canvas. The work itself is stark, haunting almost, in its barrenness. His landscapes startle. Without relying too much on the materials themselves for effect, Bennett realizes nature in cold hard metal, light in acidity and a kind of esthetic spirituality born of poetic austerity. Over the last 12 years, Bennett’s art has been exhibited in solo and group shows around the country.

Margret Short

This Oregon artist specializes in still life and floral subjects in oils. She is a Signature Member of Oil Painters of America and Master Signature Member of American Women Artists. Captivated by Rembrandt’s bling, Margret has replicated 17th century paints for her collection by hand grinding each pigment. Luscious colors, with magical names like lapis lazuli, cinnabar, and malachite are the focus of each bountiful still life. Not only are the colors reproduced, but sections of each original work in her paintings are a game of hide and seek.

Melissa J. Cooper

Spending ten years working in a foundry as a young woman starting at age 17, Cooper learned and performed virtually all the labor-intensive steps involved in casting bronze at a Loveland, Colorado foundry. But not once during those ten years did Cooper pick up a chunk of wax or clay and ponder creating her own little work of art. Despite the grime and hard work, those years at the foundry were worth it, the award-winning artist acknowledges. They gave her an invaluable education in working in bronze from the bottom up. As a result, she can visualize a complex three-dimensional design (without drawing it on paper), calculate the necessary structural strength and interrelations of its various parts, and bring it to reality—in many cases without ever having seen how the artwork will look as a whole. Cooper’s widely collected wildlife art—from five-inch to monumental scale—depicts such creatures as rabbits, beavers, chipmunks, and bears, known for their combination of graceful shape and, as the artist puts it, “fluffy and robust” charm. An impressionistic style suits Cooper well for a creature’s body. When it comes to the face, however, detail is key to infusing the animal with spirit and personality.

Cannon Beach Gallery

The gallery will open their second juried show of 2017 during the weekend.
“Frame of Reference” will feature contemporary artwork that blends text and image. From Egyptian hieroglyphics to contemporary graphic novels, cultures across centuries utilized various forms of text and image for communication. Work being submitted for the show can be done in calligraphy, altered books or maps, collage, mixed media, or any other media that follows the show’s theme.

Ann Cavanaugh

Ann grew up roaming and “making” in the outdoors of Oregon. Spending so much time outdoors and having been exposed to formal art instruction at an early age has culminated today in her being a “maker” of glass that reflects the textures and colors of nature. In 2004, she took a workshop in fused glass from Roger Thomas. From the first hour she knew she had found her medium. It didn’t take long to turn one of the outbuildings on her property into a fused glass studio. Since retiring from her job as a school administrator, she has devoted herself to her passion for glass and gardening. She is drawn to the depth and complexity that are possible by layering glass into translucent images of amazing power. Every piece represents continuous learning and renewed excitement.

Chuck Gumpert

Painting transports him into another world. Each new piece is an exploration. The canvas tells him where to go and the colors are the vehicle to get there. His pieces are expressive, energetic, moody and thought provoking. To paint out of habit or by formula would be to him the antithesis of artistic expression. When working on a large canvas, brush strokes are not a flick of the wrist, rather a full body gesture! He is inside that world for a while, playing in the colors and bathing in the light. The canvas becomes his entire field of vision. Abstract is an escape, a dizzying journey into … anything! He enjoys it when a viewer begins to see and names the things they are “seeing.” It is a different experience for everyone. He believes his sense of color and light derives from his continued practice over the last fifteen-plus years of computer graphics. Projected light and vivid color vs. reflected and natural…this exploration seems to be his ongoing quest.

Eli Mazet

He may be the most passionate glass artist you will ever meet. It all began when his brother introduced him to lamp work glass. He fell in love with it, spent hours on the torch practicing and within a few years had developed the skills that take most people a life time. His fascination with glass has led him to his most recent project, “The Contemporary Shot Glass.” While looking for something new to make, it became apparent to him that today’s glass artists were not making one of the most collected pieces of glass worldwide. With the support and sponsorship of Northstar Glass, he challenged top glass artists to create a new handcrafted shot glass. Using their skills, new techniques and glass, over 40 artists have now created more than 70 shot glasses, each a work of art. Their work has been documented in a book about how this movement has created the largest contemporary shot glass collection known today. After fifteen years of working in glass his enthusiasm has never faded and his love of glass has only grown. He is always looking for new things to make in glass and is always inspired by other glass artists.

Icefire Glassworks

What began as a five-year experiment evolved into a life-forming fascination with glass for Jim, who has been playing with fire for more than 40 years. His chemistry teacher’s observations about reality inspired him to enroll in art classes, so it is fitting that melting glass requires a grounding in both chemistry and physics. His Icefire Glassworks logo incorporates the alchemical symbols for Earth, Air, Fire and Water, honoring the obvious linkage of art and science. From that, beautiful pieces of blown glass emerge that seduce the senses and stimulate the spirit. He will show his latest work from his Embers series.

Suzanne was not reared to be a glass artist. It was her connection to the dream world that led her to become one at the age of 38. There were always hints, persistent nudges that would not be ignored, from favorite childhood words (horizon, crucible) to a vision of dancing in flames that led her to Cannon Beach and propelled her into the passionate world of soft molten glass. Inspired by the places she has lived, she makes blown glass pieces that express Nature in the tangled patterns of woodlands, the stark horizons of deserts, and the mysteries of deep water. She will be showing the latest work in her Emerald Forest series.

Mark began blowing glass in 2003.  His first experience with the medium was at Icefire Glassworks, and he now lives and works in Bend, Oregon.  His current body of work is focused on blending colors and balancing them with individual forms.  The challenge of combining colors in different ways, and working with a hot and fluid medium, keeps every day of working with glass new and exciting. He will be showing new work in his Murrini series during the weekend.

Born in South Carolina and now living in Virginia, Aggie studied at the University of South Carolina to gain a BFA Painting and Sculpture in 1974. She has exhibited extensively in the Southern region of America and her work is widely collected. She was awarded a Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts in 1982, and a National Endowment for the Arts Professional Fellowship in 1986. In 2012 Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, mounted a substantial show of her paintings and float sculptures called Keeper’s Keep. Her work has a sense of having arrived mid-narrative with unexplained content that is both disturbing and delightful. She does not see herself as a storyteller, but creates her work as a catalyst. “I’m like the person who shows you one page of a story and lets you guess the rest.” Her work challenges the viewer to make sense of what they are seeing, while embracing confusion about the unknown.

Juliellen received both her bachelor’s and master’s degree from Ohio State University. Much of her work explores the troubling emotions that surround injustice, loss and grief. “As my interest in figurative sculpture continues I am still motivated by the emotions of vulnerability, isolation and anger. As I step away and look objectively at my work I see how dreams, secrets and the experiences of others, as well as my personal experiences, have informed my work.”

A graduate from Oregon State University, Angela earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. During her time at OSU she focused on printmaking, where she took on the challenge of learning how to produce full color Intaglio prints. This type of copper plate etching is a multi-step process involving reworking a single plate for each color/layer of the image. In her studies she successfully produced vibrant, whimsical prints and quickly became one of the top printmakers in her graduating class.

Jeffrey Hull Gallery

Jeffrey began his painting career more than 40 years ago in Cannon Beach, and it is from its coastline that he draws his inspiration. Today he is widely known for his ability to capture the beauty and moods of the places where water joins land, controlling the difficult medium of watercolor, often in very large paintings. Recently he has returned to painting in oil as well, and is rarely found far from the ocean’s edge. His deep love for the area is clearly seen in his original paintings and prints.

Sharon Amber

Jewelry artist Sharon Amber creates personal treasures using 14k, 18k, and 22k gold and exotic gems.  She is best know for her high fire enameled “miniature paintings”, and her carvings in local gems and beach pebbles. During Spring Unveiling, she will reveal work and designs inspired by thousands of miles of travel over the last few months.

Steven Amber-Voorheis

This 20 year old designer began fabricating silver jewelry at the age of 9. His love for origami evolved into origami silver earrings, pendants, and rings with colored gems and pearls. He took a hiatus from jewelry making during his high school years to explore his interest in oceanography, and after two years of college has returned to jewelry design with enthusiasm. One of his designs recently won international recognition as a finalist in the 2017 Saul Bell Jewelry Competition. He currently lives in Independence, Oregon and works in silver, 14 and 18 karat gold, colored stones, and diamonds.

Bernard Geiser

During the festival Sharon will be exhibiting paintings done by her Grand Uncle Bernard Geiser, a noted WPA painter. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and, while in France in World War I as a medic, painted murals in the base hospital in Perigueux. He subsequently became part of the Paris art scene, receiving a scholarship after the war in recognition of his murals. He later headed the art department at Western State College in Gunnison Colorado. After his wife perished of pneumonia, he gave up painting and was ordained as an Episcopal priest. He arrived in Portland in 1931, and while assigned to St. Mark’s Church, completed a series of eleven murals. Geiser commented, “I gave up art for the Church and the Church gave it back to me. He was very active in local art circles from his arrival in Portland until his death in 1965.

Victoria Brooks

After a successful career as an art director in television and motion pictures, Victoria Brooks has pursued her love of painting, which she has been doing for 20 years. In addition to being a talented studio artist, she is an accomplished plein air painter and has won numerous “Best of Show” awards for her studio and plein air works.

Nick Ketcham

Nick brings his enthusiasm to jewelry design, beginning with fabrication techniques at the age of 18, and is working between college terms in the jewelry studio. Now 19 years old, he is learning the difficult intricacies of ring construction. His designs are mostly abstract, and most include texture as a main component.

Thomas Tietze

Thomas specializes in North West, nature and sea life inspired jewelry, such as salmon, trout, whales, dolphins and other denizens of the deep. An accomplished jeweler, designer and instructor, he brings over 35 years of experience and inspired passion to his designs. After completing an apprenticeship, he received further training from the Revere Academy in San Francisco and was instructed by the renowned Dieter Mueller-Stach, at CSULB. Thomas is a Jewelers of America Certified Senior Bench Jeweler. Originally from Cologne, Germany, his workshop and teaching studio is located in Portland.

Modern Villa Gallery

Anne Packard

The painting tradition is strong in Anne Packard’s family from her grandfather Max Bohn, a turn of the century impressionist, to her grandmother, great-aunt, uncle, mother, and daughter. Her art was initially worked on wood panels from wind drift along the shores of Cape Cod. As she became more involved with her art, she studied with the late Phillip Malicoat and also at Bard College. The artist Robert Motherwell saw great talent in Packard and purchased twenty-three of her paintings for his collection. With a greater knowledge and practiced discipline, new directions emerged. Today, her painting evokes the surge of relentlessly driven winter seas as well as the tranquil planes of dunes at rest, or an inviting narrow trail winding through sharp bladed dune grasses. The Cape, to which she has returned time and again continues to restore her spirit.

David Jonathan Marshall

With his imaginative style, bold use of color and dramatic perspective, David brings a fresh new look to the art world. His skill at capturing movement and animation in his art is a direct reflection of his own lifestyle and view of the world. He says, “I feel like I’m putting a puzzle together. I paint the pieces of that puzzle, but even I don’t always know what will be seen in the end.”

Josef Kote

His paintings are symphonies of light and color. They are lyrically stunning and romantic, edgy and current. He achieves this delicate balance of seemingly contradictory qualities through his complete mastery in technique, and through years of experimenting to find his own unique style. With the lightness of a true master’s hand he combines classic academic and abstract elements, fixing these, literally letting them run into each other with dripping rivulets of riveting colors and light. His trade marks are his bold brush work and sweeping strokes of vibrant colors applied, more often than not, with a pallet knife, while other areas of the canvas are left monochromatic and devoid of detail creating a negative space that lets the eye drift to infinity. The results are paintings the tremble in stillness with energy and light.

Northwest By Northwest Gallery

Georgia Gerber

Georgia’s bronze sculptures define many NW public spaces, including “Rachel the Pike Place Pig” in Seattle’s Pike Place Market and 25 sculptures surrounding Pioneer Courthouse in downtown Portland. Gerber won the 2010 Cannon Beach public choice award for Sculpture Without Walls with her “Tufted Puffins”. She typically works on two to three public installation commissions at one time using the traditional lost wax casting technique. For this year’s Spring Unveiling, she is creating a collection of six new works in celebration of our gallery’s 30th anniversary.

Christopher Burkett

Studying with Ansel Adams inspired award-winning, fine art color landscape photographer Christopher Burkett to redefine color photography as Adams had defined black and white. The Washington Post says, “Burkett has achieved in Cibachrome what Eliot Porter achieved for dye-transfer or Weston for black & white”. Each handcrafted photograph is a hand printed, hand crafted fine art original, solely created by the artist.

Skyscapes & Landscapes in oil reflect the artist’s most memorable and moving experiences with nature. Jeff paints the splendor of our natural world in the Northwest in pursuit of the ethereal & atmospheric light our region is known for.

Hazel Schlesinger

Hazel  discovered her passion for oil painting at an early age, inspired by her childhood on the Northwest coast. The shorelines, fields, and vineyards, and later the Mediterranean countryside, have supplied the scenes and subjects of her work. She paints from a palette of predominantly warm, vivid colors and large, rhythmic brush strokes, transforming landscapes into more contemporary or abstract realism.

Ivan McLean

Ivan is a public sculptor working in steel, bronze, glass and wood. His work can be seen throughout Portland’s Pearl District and he has also created extensive site-specific installations within the Nines Hotel. His work is also well known in California where he has just installed a series of spheres of different sizes and colors on Hollywood Boulevard. His 108′ steel sculpture was also selected from ten sculptors nationally for the Newport Beach Sculpture Park.

Tolley Marney

This Western sculptor creates powerful equine sculptures using antique wood inlays, steel and a lifetime of traditional blacksmithing skills. Rustic, yet elegant, these works are labor intensive and only ten are sculpted in a year.

Cristina Acosta

Cristina’s lifelong love of birds, bears and horses is often depicted in a contemporary, yet folk art manner that is truly distinctive. Her “Memoir” paintings are influenced by her Spanish heritage and family history. She has created works in many media all of her life…murals, illustrations and a best selling book. This “Coyote Woman” painting is of her grandmother in her Native American dress.

White Bird Gallery

Anne John

Anne’s subjects are typically real people who model in thematic form. Her favorite models include her daughter and two daughters-in-law, though many friends have also found their way onto her canvases. Her artwork often includes a variety of mediums, which highlight the narrative style she employs within a surreal framework. Recently her multi-layered surfaces have involved collaged news articles related to the subject.

Robin & John Gumaelius

Robin and John Gumaelius incorporate steel, ceramic and wood to create animated human and anamorphic, bird-like sculptures. Robin creates, through sgraffito and complex decorative glazes, the colorful surface imagery and then John adds the exquisite metal armatures that give the artwork life and transform them into kinetic sculptures.

Ken Grant

His career began in retail store window and interior display working with many stores in the Portland area, before beginning a successful business as a freelance display artist and store designer, that also included teaching visual merchandising. At one time, he and a friend also operated a gallery in Cannon beach, where he also spent time working on his own drawings and sculptures. Next came a gallery in Portland, a featured piece in the “Works on Paper” exhibit at the Portland Art Museum, and the publication of a book of his drawings “The Nude.” Along the way he has done illustrations for books, magazines, greeting cards and advertisements. In 1994 he became an artist full time.

Faryn Davis

From the mountains just west of Asheville, North Carolina, Faryn creates paintings and a line of jewelry which encases tiny painted scenes and found ephemera such as leaves, twigs, grass, thorns, bird bones, wasp nests, feathers, and moss into resin. Each piece is individually hand painted with toothpicks and tiny brushes, embedded in layers of resin.