Sisters artist creates 'art installation'

Sisters artist Kit Stafford has created an "art installation" and is inviting the public to have a look. She explained that an installation differs from an exhibit in that it is created for the space. "This was done without attachments, without an audience in mind," she said. "I definitely saw it like this, went toward it, and went where it took me. It wasn't created with a sale in mind."

Stafford's little room at the top of the stairs in Sisters Art Works is all decked out in white, and the pieces themselves are principally white. "I could picture a white light, like a lot of people picture the afterlife; and I made myself available to that." In fact, when she completed the installation, she named it "Afterlife."

Each of the art objects is symbolic of concepts of afterlife, since the media employed in the project are all found objects that were formerly part of something else. There are bones, feathers, shells, teeth, and even such unexpected objects as an old porcelain door knob and the spout of an old china teapot.

"I feel like these things just came together and found each other," she said. "That's how I like to work. They are things that had a former life, and this is their new life. The language that is spoken by these things that have had a life before is made fresh by their individual lines, shapes, and qualities."

Stafford attributed a spiritual aspect to the project and characterized the objects as things from the ocean, sky, desert and earth; although she confessed a particular fascination with bones, which are a principal component in her artistic creations.

"All these things have been useful in some way," she said, "...little pieces of things that have had former uses. After collecting these items and being attracted to them, I just put myself in their presence, and that's where the quiet came over this project. It's all about making yourself available for the experience."

Stafford is a longtime Sisters artist who also teaches art classes at Sisters Middle School. Her art installation will remain in place until Thursday, December 2, when it will be retired in preparation for the Art Works Holiday Open House and Craft Fair on Saturday, December 4.

The display is open to the public and available for viewing anytime the building is open, which is generally 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Sisters Art Works is located at the corner of Ash Street and Adams Avenue in downtown Sisters. Stafford's installation is in Suite 201, on the immediate left at the top of the stairs.

When asked about the eventual disposition of the art pieces, Stafford smiled and said, "Although they were created without sales in mind, there actually is a price list, now; but that came after." Then she added, "After the installation, they will be looking for new homes...their next afterlife?"