The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Sisters Arts Association will partner with the Sisters Folk Festival's Big Ponderoo for the Fourth Friday Artwalk. Many of the galleries will feature live music from 4:30 to 6 p.m. You can also pick up a Ponderoo Passport for a chance to receive a fused glass gift at the Big Ponderoo Arts Experience at Sisters Art Works, 204 W. Adams Ave. from 6 to 8 p.m.

Remember to register for Quick Draw, for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate, good in any participating gallery, thanks to a generous gift from Coldwell Banker Bain of Sisters.

Toriizaka Art is thrilled to have Lawrence Stoller's work back in the gallery. His spectacularly carved crystals are presented on one-of-a-kind bronze bases designed to bring out the best in each stone while each being its own piece of art. Stoller's work represents great artistic vision coupled with exquisite craftsmanship. Also featured is the artwork of Phuong Quoc Tri, an artist from Saigon, Vietnam. Tri grew up in a very large family, the oldest of 12 children. At an early age, he moved to Saigon and started working odd jobs to help support his family. He had very limited formal education, but his heart yearned for a way to express his thoughts and emotions. He sculpted expressionist pieces from clay and painted figurative works to help deal with bouts of intense depression and isolation. Due to his lack of formal education, he was not exposed to other artists who could help him channel his creative talents. Ultimately, he had the courage to introduce himself to a patron of the arts and the rest is history. His expressive figurative works can now be found in collections around the world.

The Rickards Gallery features the basketry of Leslee Burtt and Chris Warren for the Artwalk and the "Meet the Maker" dinner on Thursday, June 22. Burtt studied art and taught high school before concentrating on her own vision as an artist. When Warren took classes at a local arts center, she discovered she was hooked on basketry. Both award-winning artists are members of the Columbia Basin Basketry Guild, and Lake Oswego Crafts and Arts League, and their work is featured in the Lark Press book, 500 Baskets.

Raven Makes Gallery highlights Tsimshian David Boxley's body of work. Spanning over 40 years, it is a testament to an artist committed to sharing, teaching, and mentoring. A master carver, Boxley's body of work ensures the continuation and survival of ceremony, history and art of Coastal Peoples. His pieces are held worldwide in collections both private and public.

The Campbell Gallery shows work by Raina Verhey, a Central Oregon oil painter, who works in abstract themes of landscape and textured movement. Self-taught since 2018, Raina began in watercolor and slowly transformed to using charcoal and acrylic. Casually coined as "emotional impressionism," Verhey's thick impasto inspires feelings of resilience, tenacity, and comfort.

Sisters Gallery & Frame highlights the delicate and colorful tissue paper collage of Linda Wolff. She created this unique process 11 years ago as a way to replace six months of dahlia gardening when she moved to Sisters from Port Townsend, Washington, and discovered that the deer feasted on her flowers like they were their own private smorgasbord! She welcomes the open-ended creativity of the medium – not knowing how the piece will evolve as light rises and sets on the canvas.

Hood Avenue Art's featured works are by Alisa Looney, Ruth Carroll, and Kathleen Keliher. Looney fuses kiln-fired layers of enamel to steel sculptures, panels, and jewelry. She will demonstrate her enameling process during the Artwalk. Carroll earned a BFA in drawing in 1987, believing that a strong foundation in drawing is essential to painting well. Since 2009, she has focused on landscapes in oils. Keliher works in pastels and oils, focusing on plein air in the summer and retreating to her studio for winter.

Space in Common features oil paintings by Taylor Manoles of Bend. She studied art and education and taught middle school art, before focusing on her own artwork, which explores themes of faith and the human experience through contemporary landscapes. Painting is a cathartic practice and how she commemorates the goodness in the world around her.

Stitchin' Post features the works of Valori and Jean Wells. Their recurring themes have to do with natural configurations: rocks, trees, grasses, flowers, and the land, as well as travel. Printmaking is Valori's passion! She enjoys the entire process from sketching images to carving the blocks and printing them on fabric. Her mother, Jean, is a contemporary quilt maker known for teaching as well as her art. Central Oregon's natural beauty is constant inspiration as they work intuitively in their chosen field.

Wildflower Studio is showing giclee art prints by Norma Holmes and Kathy Deggendorfer. Both are local painters. Holmes has released a book mapping eastern Oregon destinations through painted images. Deggendorfer's vivid watercolors show the beauty of color and pattern in the central Oregon landscape.