Open house makes season bright

Sisters Art Works helped make the season bright last weekend, with its fourth annual Holiday Open House. Vendors were out front on the lawn and filled the upstairs and downstairs with their handcrafted holiday fair.

Few things evoke the feeling of the holidays like the fragrance of good homemade food. Janet Zuelke, of Sisters, made her mom's recipe of homemade gingerbread waffles, with lemon curd and whipped cream or ice cream, sending the luscious scent wafting down the sidewalk tempting all who passed by. Surrounded by homemade wreaths and fireplace mantle covers made from beautifully decorated pine boughs, it added to the ambiance.

Santa took time away from his other duties to visit the Sisters Country and have his picture taken with people and their pets on the porch. The photo shoot was a fundraiser for the Furry Friends Pet Food Drive.

Shoppers were drawn to the feeling of warmth inside Sisters Art Works. The local Happy Hounds 4-H club was in the lobby doing their part to raise funds for Furry Friends. They made 500 dog treats with soy and vanilla yogurt topping and 150 fleece pull-toys for the dogs. The 4-H-ers have their own animal connection, as their club's project is all about dogs.

"Of our 10 members, the youngest is in second grade and the oldest is in junior high school," said leader Jan Gould. "Their emphasis is on learning about their canine companion. Some show their dogs in agility competitions."

Singer-songwriter Brad Tisdel, known for his work with students in the Americana Project, performed his special brand of music in the early morning. Jim Cornelius and Lynn Woodward, of The Anvil Blasters, performed in the afternoon. Later in the day, singer-songwriter Anastacia offered her music.

Laurence A. Dyer set up a table of handcrafted wood boxes.

"I have been making the boxes for six years. It keeps me busy," Dyer said. "Some of the wood is 40 years old. Most of it is made from pieces from the Koa tree in Hawaii. I get the wood from a friend who has a cabinet shop in Maui."

While music was being played in the main room, in the back corner Tracy Curtis sold jewelry made from guitar strings and wire wrap.

"My daughter is a musician, and I just felt there should be something we could do with the broken strings," Curtis said. "Now I collect strings from musicians throughout the area."

Fused glass artist Janelle Kathan displayed her new Penguin decoration, that looks like a South Park character.

"I saw her in West Linn," said customer Wendy Rose who came down from Salem. "The ornament I bought there keeps reminding me to call her to teach some classes."

Kathan offers a two-hour introductory class to beginners, to expose them to working with a glass kiln.

Adora Hitchcock Designs sold comfort throws for adults. Inside her office at Sisters Art Works was everything a baby needs to stay wrapped, warm and cuddly for the winter. The baby wear was displayed next to her "I Adore You" cards and a close look at the cards shows a blanket in every one.

"I started to sew when my first grandchild was born," Hitchcock said.

It was another great day for the students of David Perkins' Mandarin classes, taught at Sisters High School. They are raising funds for their summer trip to China. Zhang Chi Hong, chef at SOJI's in Sisters, created framed works of art with Chinese calligraphy characters.

"There are two writing styles, one is more cursive and one is more formal," said Perkins. "There's a history of how the characters were created."

Chinese characters do not represent letters of the alphabet, but words. Framed Bible verses, a Tang Dynasty poem, and individual words were available. The students and their teacher are planning a fundraiser for the Chinese New Year, on February 20, 2010.

At the top of the stairs, people were greeted with T-shirts, sweatshirts, and a special blend of red wines, Oregon Pinot Noir and Tempranillo, with a signature label called Americana Red 2009, bottled to support the Sisters Folk Festival and Americana Project.

Steve Dahm, aka Bonz, presented homemade guitars, dulcimers, and "canjos" made out of found objects.

"A canjo has a can or tin body and is strung like a regular banjo or guitar or an Appalachian dulcimer. I like to make them sitar-ish," Dahm said. "Everything is whole notes, so you can't make a mistake."

The people of Sisters Art Works opened their doors and their hearts to the Sisters community spreading the holiday spirit and cheer. They each shared a little bit about what they do.

"A lot of vendors called about participating in this year's Holiday Open House. But we wanted to focus on handmade things only," said owner Kathy Deggendorfer.

"Once again I am amazed and thrilled at the quality of artwork and the enthusiasm of the Sisters community," Deggendorfer said.

The exhibit Elements of Nature in Cloth is coming up next at Sisters Art Works, from January 5 to February 28.