News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Folks in Sisters can get a break from snow and frigid temperatures Friday night, January 19, with a trip to Oregon's wine country.
Through the varied talents of Sisters artists and the literary talents of Oregon wine industry pioneer Susan Sokol-Blosser, Sisters residents will catch a glimpse of the lovely and colorful wine country and learn from a winery founder how the state's wine industry developed into a respected player in international commerce.
And no one has to drive to the Valley for the experience. All this takes place at Sisters Art Works, 204 W. Adams Ave. in Sisters.
The event kicks off at 4:30 p.m. with a reception featuring six Sisters artists and their paintings created from a visit to three Oregon wineries last year. The works of Karen Piedmont, Paul Alan Bennett, Kathy Deggendorfer, Susan Luckey Higdon, Tracy Leagjeld and Mary Marquiss will be on display.
The exhibition includes sketchbook work as well as finished product. The display offers viewers that unique pleasure of the fine arts - seeing different interpretations of the same subject matter.
"We have 25 different paintings by different artists," Kathy Deggendorfer said.
The event evolved from an art expedition Deggendorfer organized last year after enjoying a solo trip to the Lange Winery in Dundee, Oregon. She secured an invitation from Susan Sokol-Blosser to bring artists to her winery
"I made a couple of calls and we created 'The Painter's Posse - Sisters on the Road!'" Deggendorfer recalled. (See "Painting in the vineyards," by Kathy Deggendorfer, The Nugget, October 24).
The artists visited three wineries and came back with full sketchbooks - work they developed into some of the paintings on display at Sisters Art Works.
Susan Sokol-Blosser herself will be on hand to read from her book "At Home in the Vineyard," her memoir of her pioneering foray into the wine industry.
Sokol-Blosser was a pioneer on many fronts - as a woman entrepreneur at the beginning of an era when women truly came into their own in the workplace; as a candidate for office; and simply as a vintner in a fledgling Oregon industry.
Sokol-Blosser originally intended to write a history of the Oregon wine industry, but she quickly discovered that she could not separate out her personal story. So she wrote a memoir - which turned out to be a deeper and richer endeavor.
The book recounts a personal journey as well as an entrepreneurial quest, written in smooth and vivid prose.
The reading is presented in conjunction with Paulina Springs Books. For more information visit http://www.sistersartworks.com.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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