Artist feels at home in Sisters

Marilyn Burkhardt moved to Sisters last November from the Oregon coast, where she lived and worked in many art media for 25 years. Her work is based on her love of nature and animals.

Her eclectic tastes range from bronze casting and linoleum block carving to painting in acrylic and the ancient Japanese marbling technique suminagashi.

Her latest project before leaving the coast was a mural of local wildlife for the Pacific City library.

"After 25 years of living on the Oregon coast I decided that I needed a new environment, I wasn't feeling as creative," says Burkhardt.

"I had a friend who lived in Sisters, and now this has become my new path. I feel comfortable in Sisters because I come from a small town."

Burkhardt was intrigued and fascinated by art and nature since she was a child. Her first drawings were of horses.

"I was obsessed with horses and have used the horse as an image in many of my art pieces," recalled Burkhardt.

Burkhardt's ranch-style home reflects her wide range of interests. Her art and love for animals go hand in hand. She has done acrylic paintings of her horses and had put together a huge wooden dog made from many layers of plywood.

"I did that piece after my dog Brutus died, he was part St. Bernard and golden retriever," Burkhardt recalled. "I tried to make it as realistic as possible."

She learned bronze casting when she took classes for over three years starting in 1979 at the University of Oregon.

"I made life-size bronze casting statues of my dogs that I have had over the years," says Burkhardt.

After 30 years creating art, Burkhardt is currently focusing on print-making, sculpting and suminagashi.

"I have made many nature prints on handmade paper," says Burkhardt. She also taught a nature printing class at the Newport Arts Center in Newport, Oregon.

Then Burkhardt became fascinated by the ancient Japanese marbling technique that not so long ago was known to only a privileged few. Suminagashi, which literally means floating ink, is water-based and involves more organic forms. It is a meditative process and is sometimes used as part of the Japanese tea ceremony.

Burkhardt will be teaching a suminagashi workshop through Sisters Park & Recreation District on May 18, at 10 a.m. For more information visit http://www.sistersrecreation.com.

"I want to convey my love for animals and nature," Burkhardt says. "I would like to have a visible presence in Sisters; I feel such a connection to this beautiful area."