People’s Choice voting open at show

The Sisters Library Annual Exhibit, sponsored by the Friends of Sisters Library, is now open. Local art lovers can stop in during library hours and vote for their favorite pieces. The People’s Choice awards are a beloved feature of the annual event, and the winners will be announced at a reception on Friday, January 24.

This year, there are 139 pieces of art in the non-juried show, which is a community event, open to new and seasoned artists. One of the newcomers is Marguerite “Maggie” Saslow. She documents her daily walks with her pup, Roka, choosing to shoot small details on the way: ice crystals, mud puddles, wildflowers, trees, and even her own shadow on the snow. She framed two of these walkabout moments for the show. Saslow said one of her hiking buddies, upon seeing her photos, wondered if they were on the same hike, and her picture framer commented that she needed to take up hiking.

According to her artist bio, Bonnie Kimmel started painting with pastels in 2005.

“I love the vibrant colors that you get with pastels, that complement the high desert landscapes of Central Oregon. I want to thank the Sisters Library for giving new artists the opportunity to display their work and give them a chance to meet other artists in the community,” she said.

Painter Rae Ann Leach, born in 1943 in Hutchinson, Kansas, moved to Sisters six years ago. Her submission is the acrylic painting “Kansas Sunflower,” a tribute to her home state.

Sunflowers also captivated professional landscaper and amateur photographer Scott Dady, who just recently moved to Sisters. “The two sunflowers are from an ecosystem I created behind my former workplace, where they grew and created a living fence. Beetles, bugs, and bees enjoyed this habitat as much as I enjoyed planting it,” he wrote.

In addition to these first-time exhibitors, former People’s Choice Award winners Austin James Jackson, Steve Mathews, and Chuck Chamberlain all have pieces in this year’s show. So do veteran artists Randall Tillery, Randy Redfield, Paul Alan Bennett, Mark Thompson, Laurence Dyer, and Dennis Schmidling.

But even these veterans are exploring new media, new colors, new ideas, and new textures. Thompson crafted a bee box from recycled materials, and Schmidling turned some National Geographic photographs into a montage straight out of the pages of Dame Agatha Christie. Bennett stepped aside from his colorful Night Sky paintings into a world of black-and-white, while Redfield jumped into a much more colorful palette, and Tillery moved from oils to acrylics.

Zeta Seiple is chairperson of the FOSL Art Committee. “We’re really pleased with the turnout this year, and we’re anxious for the public to see it,” she said.

Visitors to Sisters Library can see the artwork during library hours, which are Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Art is displayed throughout the library, including the display cases, Fireside Room and the Computer Room. The reception, with music and refreshments, will be Friday, January 24, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Most of the art on the walls and in display cases is for sale, and anyone who wishes to purchase a piece may complete an intent to purchase form, located on the table at the entrance to the Community Room. Twenty percent of the purchase price will be donated to the Friends of Sisters Library. All of the artwork will remain on display through the duration of the show, until February 27.