Artists prepare for open studio event

The third and final group of artists and writers are working on a variety of creative projects at Caldera Arts Center, and starting to think about what they will be sharing with the public during the last open studios event this Saturday.

Maesie Speer, Arts Center programs manager, talked about how each group of artists is unique and different. Caldera hopes these three-and-a-half-week residencies "make it possible for people to explore parts for their identities as artists, teachers and parents."

This cohort of seven includes four parent artists who have their children with them for part or all of their stay. Maesie commented that it has been interesting to watch the parents and kids self-organize to work and play together.

Nika Blasser, who does marketing at the Crow's Shadow Institute of Art in Pendleton, has enjoyed her chance to be at Caldera. She is struck by the differences in this residency from the first one of her career last fall in urban Denmark. She describes her artistic process as being responsive to her environment and generally highly connected to nature. The work she is creating feeds from the land, light, lake, caldera and even the snow covering the ground. She is busy creating and working in several media.

"I'm going to make a lot of things" and experiment in order to pick what she is pleased and happy with, she reported. "I tend to prioritize everything else above my art practice ... this makes me recognizes how much value I have in my own work. I owe myself this time."

The residency helps her feel that her work is worthy and valuable.

Coming from Brooklyn, Amna Ahmad is here with her active 3-year-old daughter, Lila. This is her first residency and it is an important part of her shift from a full-time corporate job to being an author. She is valuing the opportunity to learn from the other artists here about the business side of making a living in the creative arts. Although she started her first novel several years ago, the residency is her opportunity to revise the book's first draft. Her time with Lila is being spent enjoying mountain air, the space and the quiet. She will share a scene from the book during her reading at the event.

"I go to my cabin, I sleep, I make art."

Working in movement and creating her own sewn "inflatables" sculptures, Tamar Ettun is using her time to complete a four-year performance project. Each year has had a different color and theme, with this final year being orange and joy. As founder of The Moving Company in Brooklyn and a native of Jerusalem, she is finding her time here "peaceful and just what I was hoping for. You just make art," and are relieved from the pressures of all the other things in the world, including a commute.

She enjoys that even the clutter of her normal workspace is gone as she sews large orange fabric pieces in the Grand Room of the Hearth Building, listening to trance music on the ambient sound system, and utilizing the incredible space open to her for movement.

The other artists currently in residence include Leora Fridman, working in literary arts from Berkeley, California; and Sarah Maria Medina, a poet and writer from Seattle. Two other artists are from Oregon: Heather Sparks is a conceptual artist from Portland and Jason Graham (also known as MOsely WOtta or MOWO), of Bend is a former slam poetry champion and a TEDx alumni.

In addition this month, these artists have interacted with the Central Oregon community and Caldera Youth Program, which includes Sisters Middle School students again after several years' hiatus. Nika taught a cyanotype printmaking workshop for Caldera high school youth; Leora offered a devotional writing workshop in Sisters in partnership with Deschutes Public Library, and Tamar gave a talk for Bend Women's March.

This summer, watch for announcements about free public programs and tours in July and August held in conjunction with Camp Caldera. The application submissions for next year's Artists in Residence just closed, and the selection committee will be meeting soon to select from several hundred applications.

The final open studios event of 2018 will take place Saturday, March 24, with this roster of seven artists, writers, performers and Caldera youth. It is free and open to the public. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. with the artist program beginning at 1 p.m. Caldera is located 16 miles west of Sisters off Highway 20 at 31500 Blue Lake Dr. Turn left on SW Suttle Lake Loop, and follow signs to Caldera and the Hearth Building.