Library art exhibit drawing a crowd

The Friends of the Sisters Library annual art exhibit, hanging throughout the library, is into its third week, and it seems everyone who has been in to view the varied pieces is reluctant to leave. Comments ranging from, "isn't this so cool," to "oh, I wish I could do that," are common.

Among the over 100 pieces of art - everything from feathered masks to beautiful oils, photos and watercolors to a didgeridoo - is Chris Green's striking rendition of Autzen Stadium, over at the University of Oregon. This is the first time Green has entered a piece of his art in a formal show, he said, but laughed as he recalled his time studying at OSU.

"Oh, yeah," he said with a big grin, "we students put our art up in the hallway of the dorm, and I did put the first sketch of Autzen Stadium in the hallway, and that was a little weird."

Chris's Autzen Stadium piece started out life as a pen-and-ink freehand rendition of what Chris had in his head, and then slowly, over the period of about 25 to 30 hours was finished with watercolor pencil, also

freehand.

One of the more unique pieces on display at the art exhibit is Caleb Anderson's didgeridoo. It is made from a piece of salt cedar from the Mojave Desert of California. Caleb dried it in the sun, which caused a great deal of cracking. He hollowed it out and then filled the cracks with various other woods and turquoise. The turquoise he mined himself in an old abandoned mine outside of

Las Vegas.

When one picks the piece up, the turquoise quietly catches your attention, as does the smooth texture.

"I spent almost three hours with a palm-sander getting that smooth finish and then waxed it," Caleb said, putting the mouthpiece to a his lips. He says he can "play" it, but is limited to a low, rumbling bass sound, something like what an elephant makes when it's lost.

All in all, the FOSL art exhibit will be on display until February 23.