Dear Liza,
This past weekend, Auntie Bridgett, Grandpa Nelson and I went to a new place! Well, actually, it is an old place, but new to us. It is called Willamette Village, and we didn’t know anything about it. On the way, we actually got a bit lost.
We stopped outside of town to ask directions, at a building that just happened to contain artist studios! We spent the next hour visiting with the artists we met there. Diane Erickson does fascinating impressionist encaustic portraits. Her “Women with Attitude” series is amazingly fun, and many seem like someone we might know.
Brenda Boylan does beautifully realistic oil paintings. Many of her landscapes look like lots of other landscapes, but her painting of a sunny coffee shop captures so much of what we love about coffee shops that we couldn’t stop looking at it.
Finally we came upon Chas Martin. He does a type of sculpture I have never seen before, and we spent a lot of time talking, looking and just being amazed at his process and his product.
Chas uses wire to create a shape, standing it up on a wooden base while he shapes it with pliers.
Once he gets it the shape he wants, he covers it with rice paper and a polymer. This creates a three dimensional shape with a surface he can paint. He mounts the finished piece on a marble base to give it stability.
Some of his shapes stand, but some seem to float or fly. Some seem solid, but others have a transparency that is magical.
We chatted and ogled until it became clear that LUNCH needed to be in our near future. I am sure we will be back to this wonderful home of art!
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 