Foundation gains experience from artists

In an effort to further its support for the arts and artists in Sisters and Central Oregon, The Roundhouse Foundation invited a group of local artists to experience artist in residency programs around the country. The local artists variously attended Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts, Penland School of Crafts, Sedona Arts Center, Maine Media, and Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, and created new work in printmaking, photography, ceramic, painting, and mixed media.

Work that was created by participating artists Dawn Emerson, June Jaeger, Ingrid Lustig, Carolyn Platt, Ryder Redfield, and Hannah Tenneson will be featured in an exhibit, "Sisters On The Road: Six Artists and Their Discoveries," from February 1 through March 12, at Sisters Art Works, 204 W. Adams Ave.

The community is invited to an artists' reception February 8 beginning at 4:30 p.m. A panel discussion at 6 p.m. will feature artists sharing information about their experiences.

The Roundhouse Foundation will also share information about the purchase of Pine Meadow Ranch and the work in progress to restore this historic Sisters property, continuing the history of agriculture and the future of the ranch in the creative community. The Roundhouse Foundation recently purchased Pine Meadow Ranch from the family of Dorro Sokol, and plans to continue developing partnerships in the arts, conservation, ecology, and preservation.

In addition to creatively participating in workshops pertaining to their own disciplines, the artists were asked to observe the different learning models used, and think about the feasibility of setting up similar programs in Sisters. Program types, broadly speaking, included the artist-in-residence, workshop, and shared space.

Carolyn Platt went to Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts on the Umatilla Reservation near Pendleton. Her discipline is creating monotype prints, which are a bit like painting in reverse, then run through a press onto paper. "My work is gestural, energetic, and forceful," she said.

Using all new processes, she created her first lithograph, and a mono print series of four with a consistent component. "It was a fast four days," she said.

She was part of a group that viewed a collection of prints by international artists, and came to understand new approaches to print-making. They got to explore and ask questions of trained print-makers from Tamarind Institute, who helped them to break down the process into small steps, enabling the creation of anything the artists wanted. "Techniques were demystified," she said.

"Although it was a whole different process and materials than what I usually work with," Platt said, "I am figuring out how to do this in my own work space. I will remember many of the images and I am sure they will influence my work for the better."

The Roundhouse Foundation's goal is to incorporate and build on ideas such as this and the knowledge gained by Sisters' road-tripping artists.

"I'm not sure what the Sisters facility has settled on as a mission, however with temporary studies, it could change its focus into many fields, i.e. sciences, environment, and arts," Platt said.

Crow's Shadow serves mainly indigenous populations, but some sessions enable emerging artists to use the facility and increase their printing knowledge.

The exhibit at Sisters Art Works is open weekdays February 1 through March 12.