Arts and Crafts
Karen Bandy Design Jeweler Artists Promenade
By John Martin For The Bulletin Two of the many reasons to attend the Bank of the Cascades Bend Fall Festival presented by The Bulletin and Norwalk-The Furniture Idea are the Juried Artist Award presentation and the Karen Bandy Design Jeweler Artists Promenade. The Juried Artist Award, in the amount of $500, is given by C3 Productions to the single artist whose submitted work was judged most compelling by a selection panel. Artists who wished to be considered for the award had to submit slides of their art for consideration. According to Susan Ludi, an art teacher at Redmond High School and one of the judges, the jury looked for quality of the slide submission and work that stood out from the crowd. Ludi notes that many of those who participated in the judging are accomplished artists with work on display at local galleries, and that the number of worthy entries made selecting a single winner challenging. Challenging perhaps, but not impossible. The judges gave this year¹s Juried Artist Award to Don Zylius, a nationally known watercolor artist who lives in Sisters. Zylius came to Central Oregon in 1970 from Waukeegan, Ill., where he had been a staff artist for a newspaper. He worked as a commercial artist in Bend for several years; then, in 1974, he started doing fine art watercolor painting on a full time basis. Zylius paints mainly landscape and wildlife scenes, florals, and fly fishing scenes. He uses a watercolor technique known as wet-on-wet in which the paint is applied to wet paper. He feels that this method gives a depth to the painting and helps evoke the mood he wants to present. Another unusual technique he employs is pouring paint onto the paper. Zylius then manipulates the paper to spread the paint where he wants it. As much as half of the paint that he uses on any given piece might be applied in this way. While this technique achieves an effect that Zylius likes, it¹s also less controlled than applying the paint with a brush, more of a gamble. But it¹s the aspect of risk that Zylius enjoys about watercolor painting in general. He describes his process as, ³flying by the seat of your pants. It¹s open ended. You¹re always reacting to what¹s happening on the paper.² The choice of nature scenes for most of his work comes naturally to Zylius. He¹s always spent as much time as possible outdoors hunting, fishing and simply observing. ³If I see a beautiful sunset or mist on a stream or a hummingbird hovering at a flower I¹ll either take a picture of it or make a mental note of it,² he says. ³Then I¹ll end up using it in a painting.² While he takes a lot of photos, he¹s careful to point out that he doesn¹t paint directly from the photos but uses them as inspiration. ³I need to feel excited at the start of a painting,² Zylius says. ³If I¹m not, that lack of excitement seems to show in the finished piece.² Each painting generally takes him two to three days to complete. He¹s learned that he can work for about six hours at a stretch before mental fatigue sets in and he begins to make mistakes. Zylius has his paintings on display at Lahaina Gallery in Bend on a regular basis. At Soda Creek Gallery in Sisters and Wingbeat Gallery in Shasta, Calif., he shows a few paintings and a number of gicleé prints of his work. Zylius¹ paintings will be on display at the festival along with work by many other artists, including those who were in the competition. According to Ludi, it¹s not just the quality of the work, but its wide variety makes the show a treat to see. ³There¹s some amazing work out there,² she says. Many of the artists will be on hand as well during the festival. The Karen Bandy Design Jeweler Artists Promenade will give everyone the chance to stroll down the middle of Wall Street and feast their eyes on original art at about 150 different booths. A wide variety of fine art will be displayed and available for purchase. Ludi notes that all art in the booths must be created by the artists displaying it. In many cases the artists themselves will be in the booths to answer questions about their work. On Sunday, Oct. 5, C3 Productions will name the winners of two other $500 awards. These awards will be judged during the Festival and will be given to artists for Best of Show and Best Booth Display. Even if you don¹t know what art is, you¹re sure to see something you like at the Bank of the Cascades Bend Fall Festival. Artists Local 101 By John Martin For The Bulletin This year¹s Bank of the Cascades Bend Fall Festival will have a number of activities and events sponsored by Artists Local 101. The theme running through all of the group¹s activities at the festival is the powerful image of the crow. Various local artists have created pieces for The Crow Show that explore the crow as a personal symbol. Their work will be displayed in different places throughout the festival including the Artists Local 101 booth on Wall Street in front of Goody¹s. There will also be a crow costume competition open to anyone. At 5 p.m. on Saturday a Costume Promenade will take place in front of the Artists Local 101 booth. The festival¹s annual scarecrow competition, open to all, will be divided into two categories this year, the ³artistic² category and the ³traditional² category. Entries in the artistic category will be judged as figurative artwork. The traditional category will welcome entries of traditional scarecrows as well as spontaneous and whimsical creations. The scarecrows will be on display throughout the festival. Artists Local 101 describes itself as ³a hard-working band of art rebels dedicated to instigating and promoting contemporary and outsider art in Central Oregon, taking art out into the streets, and providing opportunities for artists and the community to experience art in the everyday.² That ambitious program translates into many different art events that the group organizes throughout the year, including activities at the Bank of the Cascades Bend Fall Festival. In spring it organizes the popular Trashformations event in which teams of artists assemble outdoor sculptures from the trove of materials at Pakit Liquidators. The sculptures are displayed the following weekend at Earth Day festivities. In November, the month-long Altered Stations event will celebrate Dia de los Muertos. Artists will create personal shrines and altars at various locations. The group will distribute maps so that the public can take self guided tours of the works. Last month, members of Artists Local 101 spent a weekend creating an environmental sculpture at a site along Highway 97 north of Bend. The nonprofit group was started four years ago by local artists Lloyd McMullen and Louise Montgomery. It has grown to approximately 60 members currently, with a board of directors and a newsletter. According to Beth Yoe, who handles communications for Artists Local 101, it¹s a loose organization that counts on individual initiative from members. While the group has no permanent gallery space, members often show their work at Studio 550 which shares space with Inclimb Gym at 550 SW Industrial Way in Bend. John Paul Designs, Cristina Acosta Studio, Blue Spruce Gallery, Avenida Art and Frame, The Pinckney Gallery at Central Oregon Community College and Karen Bandy Design Jeweler are other locations where members occasionally exhibit their work. For more information about Artists Local 101 you can write to P.O. Box 381, Bend, OR 97709. | ||||||||||