Gallery event gets steampunk

Steampunk art and quilts are strange bedfellows, but you can find both in Sisters Galleries during this week's Fourth Friday Art Stroll, and extending through the Quilt Show month.

The Sisters Arts Association invites you to stroll the town this Fourth Friday, from 4 to 7 p.m. (and maybe a little later), and see what's new. Listen for music, share light refreshments, and enjoy the galleries on Hood Avenue, Cascade, across town at Sisters Art Works on Adams, and down the block to Canyon Creek Pottery. Gallery maps are available in all of the locations and at the Chamber of Commerce.

Steampunk refers to a subgenre of science fiction or fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk art repurposes this technology into items that are either decorative or wearable.

At Things, Etc., Candy Park is bringing in original hats by Avery Milieu Millinery of Seattle, hats constructed around historical fantasy with steampunk embellishment and whimsical frivolities.

Artist Peter Jon will display 35 different designs of sterling silver quilt charms, and there is a huge display of Oregon sunstones.

This tiny gallery will also feature crystalline glazed pottery - the crystals grow in the glaze during the firing process.

Says the artist, Lynn Rothan (working with Bill Earhart), "I take my kiln to the peak temperature, let the temperature drop, then hold at various temperatures to grow the crystals, which are made of mostly zinc and a little titanium." It's a very complex process, used by only about 200 artists in North America.

Take it outside and see what happens in the sun!

Across Hood Avenue, at Grizzly Ridge Upcycle, Rhonda Barney is going big with steampunk furniture and jewelry, lots of art from recycled materials. You can sit on it, put your stuff in it, wear it, or light it up.

At Navigator News, Janet Brockway is featuring two collage artists, Pamela Kroll from Bend, and Beverly Soasey from Eugene. Pamela's collage can be considered in the steampunk genre.

Lots of businesses (and galleries) will be displaying quilts leading up to, during, and after the Fiber Arts Stroll and Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS). Stitchin' Post is Quilting Central in Sisters, and in the Twigs Gallery this month, "Where Paint and Fabric Meet" is a collaborative show with painter Judy Hoiness and Jean Wells, quilter. Look for individual work by each artist as well as the mixed-media collaborations.

Look for "Sunflowers by the Yard" at Sisters Art Works. Kathy Deggendorfer's original designs are on display in the form of original watercolors, tiles and fabric, which can be purchased. How? Why ... by the yard, of course!

Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop has original quilt paintings by Dennis McGregor: "The Source," for the 40th Annual SOQS, "The Lighthouse," for the Quilters By The Sea show, coming up in August in Newport, and "Fall" - the last in the series of original "Four Seasons" quilt paintings, along with the quilt-themed book, "Dream Again."

Touchable art includes new alpaca rugs by Marlene Baldock of Desert Song Alpacas in Sisters. Marlene raised and sheared the alpacas, created the designs, and sent them off to Texas to be woven onto a jute base. Now back home in Sisters, the rugs, in both three-by-five, and four-by-six feet, are soft to the touch, but durable. Each of the colored stripes represents a different one of Marlene's alpacas. Helen Schmidling can't wait to introduce them to you.

Beacham's Clock Company has brought in special clocks to honor the Quilt Show. Each clock is color decorated inside with items related to quilting.

Clearwater Gallery is ready to open the first of their cabanas in the courtyard of The Open Door. Plein air artist Jim Horsley will be featured. Stop by the courtyard for refreshments, and sit a while. You may even end up as subject matter in one of Jim's paintings. He is embarking on this adventure as a follow-up to the Smith Rock Pleinair Paintout, to broaden his palette in this intimate setting while diners enrich their palates.

Walk on down to The Collection Gallery. Starting this month, a piece of art will be given away to the winner of a free drawing. Just sign up, and you could be a winner. This month's treasure is a 24x32 photograph of Mount Washington on canvas by Lisa Belt. Stop in and say hello to Gary and Karen Cooley.

Next door at Hood Avenue Art, Fourth Friday's featured artists Katherine Taylor and Tina Brockway have a treat in store. Though coming from different art forms, Katherine's paintings and Tina's pottery give new meaning to color and luminosity.

Later in the month, the gallery will pair wine and painting. What a concept! That's how they did it in Paris, and that's what inspired Katherine and watercolorist Winnie Givot to create "Vino Van Gogh," a paint-and-sip experience. They will give you all the supplies you need - you bring the wine - and together, paint the night away. Call Hood Avenue Art for more details.

At Cowgirls and Indians Resale, Kate Aspen just got in a large shipment of turquoise. She has one of the largest collections of Native American art in Central Oregon. A lot of this art is disappearing, being bought up by collectors around the United States.

New to Sisters is Jeffrey Murray Photography. One day last week, Jeffrey was hanging out of an airplane in the morning, and out of a helicopter in the evening, taking aerial photographs of our beautiful mountains. Hang in there Jeffrey - we can't wait to see your photos!

Cha has collected some rare and unusual items in her gallery, Cha For The Finest. A new display features a T-Rex embryo (see related story, page 29), and you can even see where the umbilical cord was attached to the body.

Award-winning artist Jennifer Hartwig is bringing her distinctive style of scratchboard art to Alpenhimmel. She will teach an all-day workshop on July 25, walking you through every step of the way to create a beautiful 8x10 work of art. Charity Alva will have samples available.

Studio Redfield will have a trunk show of Kristin Cahill's beautiful and creative jewelry. She is the owner of Lux Reve. As she grew up in the expansive outdoors of Bend, she was inspired by nature, giving her jewelry a chic, organic style.

Old West Collectibles is featuring the much sought-after collectable quilt charms by Peter Hedren. He is not going to make any more, so this may be the last chance to pick one up.

At Gone Wishin', Sandy Hinshaw is wrestling with all of the challenges of opening a new store. She's filling it with an assortment of art and many things she's collected during her life.

Canyon Creek Pottery's Ken Merrill has a new line of spring and summer pottery, hanging baskets, wall-mounted pottery and much more. The colors of these baskets will bring art to your garden.

And speaking of outdoor art - there's always something new in the courtyard at Ken Scott's Imagination Gallery. His latest whimsy is "The Spawning Mantis," an organic sculpture designed to display potted and hanging plants in their most unique grandeur. Ken will also bring in the latest of his lighting creations.

Last but not least, you'll get a song from Western artist Dyrk Godby as you visit his work at Three Ponies. Dyrk's pop-up gallery is at 178 S. Elm St. (corner of Hood). He's there on weekends and by appointment.

The Sisters Arts Association is working with KZSO FM, 94.9, Sisters' own radio station, to produce a monthly (for now) arts-themed show. Airtime is to be determined, so stay tuned. If you miss it, the podcast will be available on the KZSO website, and soon, at http://www.sistersartsassociation.org.