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Cynthia
Spencer
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Half-a-Million
Pots
April 24 - May
20, 2008
Gallery
hours:
Tuesday - Saturday, noon - 5:00 PM
Reception:
May 1, 5:30 - 7:00 PM
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Cheryl
Crownover
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4
Perspectives from 30 years of LBCC Ceramics
Gene Tobey, Jay Widmer, Cynthia Spencer &
Cheryl Crownover
Half-a-Million
Pots at The Arts Center celebrates the 30th anniversary
of the Linn Benton Community College Ceramic Program at
the Benton Center in Corvallis. The exhibit is a retrospective
of Jay Widmer and the late Gene Tobey, but also offers new
work by Widmer and his one time students, fellow instructors
Cynthia Spencer and Cheryl Crownover.
The
Ceramic Program started out in a cramped 1920's classroom
in the old high school building which was transformed to
the Benton Center, the Corvallis branch of LBCC. Beginning
1990 Benton Center students gained access to personalized
workshops at Widmer's Digger Mountain Anagama kiln. In 2005
the new 3700 sq feet ceramics studio at the Benton Center
was opened. Widmer worked with architects on the design,
incorporating many ideas formed over the last 47 years working
at the Benton Center.
Jay
Widmer has been the lead instructor from the beginning of
the program, transforming it to one of the most popular
departments at the Benton Center site. His influence on
potters in Benton County is hard to over estimate, most
of them have come through the studio at the Benton Center,
or have participated in the Digger Mountain Anagama firings
in Alsea, and all together theyhave produced half a million
pots! Widmer tries to provide opportunities for experimentation
and as much self exploration as possible. Methods of firing
at the Benton Center include gas reduction, raku, salt,
soda, vapor and charcoal firings.
Widmer
describes how he goes out raking for crabs and clams; he
sees his primal nature as that of a farmer-hunter-gather.
His most important pots are base on these experiences and
tell a story about his relationship with food rituals and
his life in the Oregon Coastal Range. The interaction with
the natural world has become integrated in his pots and
is the spiritual base for his aesthetic reference in clay.
This gets physically translated in traces of these experiences:
the imprint of a shell or the thumb print of the artist.
The
pots on exhibit are anagama wood fired in Alsea. For each
firing the kiln is fed continuously over 48 hours by a crew
of twelve gradually bringing the temperature up to 2400?F
and consuming four cords of wood. Controlled cooling takes
about seven days, which influences the color, texture, iridescence
and crystal growth on the pots smacked with flame-born melted
fly-ash. The goal of the kiln master is not to duplicate
results each time but to guide and direct the fire so that
it reveals the beauty from the hearts, hands, and soul of
the potter.
Cynthia
Spencer's hand built objects are both sculptural and functional.
Her sculptural work features abstract shapes, some with
a more narrative content. The shapes are bold and seemingly
simple with the narrative pieces receiving a different surface
handling. She adjusts the shape and subject matter of a
piece to the firing method.
Spencer's functional work is characterized by simplicity
and occasional whimsy. She sticks with a distinct color
palette, a rather earthy green going to bronze reminiscent
of antique Chinese bronze. Spencer is one of those who takes
part in the anagama firings at Digger Mountain.
After
30 years being a potter, Cheryl Crownover is still fascinated
with the complexity of ceramic technology and the endless
possibilities for the development of intriguing form and
function. Her work is useful and sculptural, lively, playful
and tactile; she invites participation. Her pieces are hand
built from textured slabs of clay. There is an emphasis
on the natural beauty of clay and form, glaze applied sparingly
so that there is always a sense of the underlying material.
The
exhibit at The Arts Center is sponsored by Kay Dee Cole,
Edward Jones Investments Inc.
A
number of satellite exhibits will be on view concurrently
at the following locations: Footwise the Birckenstock Store
and Book Bin window, OSU MU Concourse, Corvallis Benton
County Public Library, Benton Center and Pegasus Gallery.
All these venues will be filled with work from teachers
and one time students of the Benton Center Ceramics program.
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"Muddy
Creek "
by Linda Humphrey
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The
Corrine Woodman Galleries are devoted to The Arts Center-affiliated
guild artists and their guests. The Corrine Woodman Gallery
I is located in The Arts Center ArtShop. The Corrine Woodman
Gallery II is located in the "new" office. Signs refer
viewers to the Corrine Woodman Gallery II, and vice versa. New
gallery lighting has been installed in the Corrine Woodman Gallery
II, and the wall has been upgraded to the same style as our
other gallery walls. The strength of the Corrine Woodman Gallery
II is in the configuration of the wall. While the original had
relatively short walls, up to 10 feet long, the new gallery
wall is almost 17 feet long, and can accommodate large-scale
pieces.
March
4 - April 5, 2008: Linda Humphrey and Lois Bottomly
Painting
is as important as breathing and sleeping for Linda Humphrey,
who doesn't wait for inspiration to come around. Humphrey
likes to work in oil paint, so when a painting isn't going
the way she likes, she can still use it as a point of departure
for the next one. Humphrey enjoys the practice of working
outside with a group of artists; not only is the beauty of
the landscape inspiring, but also the encouragement of fellow
artists.
Lois
Bottomly works in acrylics, oils, oil pastel. and watercolors.
She enjoys pushing old boundaries and trying new styles, and
she feels that it is important for artists to always explore
and grow. Her work has been shown in galleries in Little Rock,
Arkansas, and Southern California.
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"Little Miss Apprehensive"
by Jenna Milton
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April 8 – 29, 2008: Jenna Milton
Jenna Milton is a young artist who came to photography in
a mundane way: she took her first photography class during
her sophomore year in high school, “and the rest,”
as she says, ”is history”. Although she also has
an avid interest in creative writing, Milton finds that sometimes
words just aren’t enough. Photography is her way of
blending provocative visual appeal with that kind of in-the-moment
presence of mind that she seems to possess in abundance. Milton
approaches her work with an honesty that in her own opinion
cannot be faked - “not even if you’re a Photoshop
Deity”. For Milton, a camera is an essential tool that,
when used properly, can blur the line between artistry and
raw documentation.
May 1 – 4, 2008: Bonsaï Trees by Bob Newton
Bob Newton, an artist who became a potter to make the containers
for his ever growing bonsaï collection, brings his bonsai
trees to The Arts Center to coincide with the Spring Garden
Festival. Bonsaï is the Japanese art of growing miniature
shrubs and trees, starting with a regular size species tree
or plant. Bob has in his collection a series of different
groupings of maple trees, all grown from volunteer seedlings
from the regular sized maple in his yard. By clipping new
growth and roots continually the trees get trained into the
desired shape. As all bonsaï tree growers will admit,
this is a passion, not just a hobby. The trees need constant
attention, misting and controlled watering, adjusting and
pruning and the grower needs to have a lot of patience and
dedication. Most of the bonsai trees or groupings on show
are years to decades old; it takes time before a seedling
grows into the miniature adult tree.
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"River
for Franz Dolp "
by Cynthia Spencer
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May 7 – 31, 2008: Publication Celebration of Franz Dolp Poetry
Local artists who were friends of Franz Dolp and who are inspired
by the poetry in his book, LEAVES ON THE RIVER, will show,
work and the poem of
inspiration. The book is to be released at an Arts Center
reading and celebration on May 30. Shown in the exhibit will
be art by Lill Ahrens,
Dave Buchanan, Laurie Childers, Jan Dymond, Leslie Green,
Saralyn Hilde, Dawn Jones, Carolyn Madsen, Sue Noel, Jan Roberts
Dominguez, Sarah
Scholfield, Bill Shumway, Cynthia Spencer and Frances Stilwell.
The pieces will show each artist’s way of responding
to Franz’s poetry and
to the sacredness of the natural world.
June
3 - July 5, 2008: Peggy Sharrow and Madonna Hap Reubens
Hap Reubens received a BFA in Art from the University of Colorado
in 1964, and continued pursuing her studies of relief printing,
specifically wood cuts under Wendell Black mentorship. After
a 10-year hiatus Reubens discovered watercolor and came back
to woodcut as well;
she plans to alternate between the two, since “they
enhance each other”. She continues her art training
through workshops such as a master class
in watercolor by Jack Hines and Jessica Zemsky from Montana
and Japanese-style woodcut techniques by Walt Padgett a well
known Oregon printmaker. She is represented in the Corvallis area by Pegasus Gallery. Two of her
watercolors were accepted in the OSU Art in Agriculture show.
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"Chives"
by Peggy Sharrow
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Peggy Sharrow has worked in fiber arts, specifically embroidery for most
of her life. In the late 70’s she started doing miniature
embroidery on soft jewelry and art to wear. She was part of
the Ecru collective, a gallery in Corvallis dedicated to art
to wear in the 80’s. As she has done in the past, this
year Sharrow focused with experimentation embroidering detailed
pieces based on photographs. She has concentrated on light
and shadow and the beauty of gardens. Embroidery, rather than
using a paint medium, is helpful in learning
about lights and shadow because by its necessity, it is done
at a slower pace. Sharrow uses silk as the foundation material.
She feels that even
though the embroidery threads cover it, the silk adds its
own light.
July
8 - August 2, 2008: Janet Ekholm and Kathryn Honey
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May
24 - June 24, 2008: Cascade Print Exchange: International
Exhibit with OSU 
