In Memory: Karen French

I met Karen at my first Oregon Potters Association meeting where she was the Hospitality Coordinator.  Her job was to set up tables for treats but she went above and beyond.  With her open, up front and easy going humor, she instantly made me feel welcome and at ease in this new group.

Thanks to Washington County Open Studios, I got to know her even better.  Doing her Artist Profile (here), I learned about Karen’s clay journey from “sanity” classes when her children were small in Corvallis to teaching at the OSU craft art center to selling her work at craft fairs, Ceramic Showcase and becoming one of our valued open studio tour artists.

As part of our tour committee, Karen volunteered to help me with public relations.  I had pages and pages of excel documents that needed updating and consolidating as well as help with online event/calendar listings.  It didn’t faze Karen at all.  True to her nature, she jumped in with both feet editing and reorganizing and getting all the event postings done with ease.  In addition to our group, Karen was a very busy volunteer with her Bethel Congregational UCC, Altrusa International, and the Oregon Potters Association.

But Karen was more than just a committee member to me.  She became my friend.  A clay and play buddy.  An advisor and coworker to talk with about glaze problems, clay tricks and share new ideas.  She lent me her terra sig to paint on my greenware to prepare for doing horsehair raku at her studio.  The day came to fire and raku with hail, lightening and pouring rain.  We thought we’d have to postpone, but in Karen’s go-for-it style, we decided to do it anyway.  I wrote all about it (here).  But suffice it to say, it was a great time.  We got some wonderful new raku pieces.

 

I was so inspired, I used the experience to pitch and get a local TV station to shoot live segments from Karen’s studio about our 2014 tour.  It took a lot of work to set up for the TV shoot, but Karen just rolled up her sleeves and pitched right in even though she’d just recovered from back surgery a few months earlier.  During her open studio weekend, she had a great time with her visitors and also made sure to send her visitors onto the other artists’ open studios nearby.

 

Many people come and go in our lives.  But some come into our lives, help us see life in a different light and leave us far too suddenly and too soon.  Karen was one of those people to me.  I was deeply saddened and shocked to hear of Karen’s death on December 11, 2014 from an unexpected and sudden illness. 

Her memorial service will be held January 3, 2015 at 1:30pm at Bethel Congregational UCC, 5150 SW Watson Avenue in Beaverton, Oregon. 

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Karen went to high school in Trafalgar Castle school and attended George Brown College.  As she wished, her ashes will be scattered at her most favorite spot, Windswept, the family island and cottage at the north end of Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. For Karen, Windswept has always been a place of nature, family and peace. 

Rest in peace, my friend, we will miss you.

Celebrating Our 2014 Open Studios Tour.

This was the 5th year of the Washington County Open Studios tour.  Peg Falconer Weber started out with a vision and only 17 other artists.  This year, 40 artists opened their studios across Washington County in October and came together in December to celebrate.

The artists arrived at Pam Nichol's home and studio with plates of munchies and desserts and wine and stories.  Emma Weber shared a slide show of studios, art, visitors and the live coverage from KPTV's Good Day Oregon.  Peg shared her new visions for the group's future and artists stepped up to take on the new challenges to move forward.

Toasts were made.   Desserts were enjoyed.  Hostess, Pam showed off her new studio space.

All in all it was a great way to celebrate another successful year for Washington County Open Studios tour.

Open Studios Helped Me Find My Way Back to Clay.

It had been a tough few years.  My dog died.  I broke my wrist and had to have surgery.  A roof leak repair tore apart my studio walls and floor.  My husband got laid off.  We were doing our best and I took every gig that came along to help make ends meet. 

One thing I knew in my heart even as my mind raced with fear, I would not give up on my art.

I’d been showing and selling my copper and screening masks and mixed media work for almost a decade.  But it was open studios that helped me stay on the art path and find my way back to clay. 

I opened my studio that weekend hoping to see new people, buoy my spirits and make a little money selling copper jewelry and masks.  I did all of that, but it was the encouragement and generosity of my visitors that helped me the most.

One couple, who had bought several of my masks at gallery shows, stopped by and noticed my clay sculptures scattered about my studio and home.  They asked why they hadn’t ever seen them before.  I told them, honestly, I’d given up on clay because I couldn’t afford to pay to have the clay fired and I didn’t have my own kiln.

Then, something amazing happened: the man gave me his kiln.  And months later, when I went to haul it home, he insisted I take his electric wheel, too.  My mind told me no, but my heart said yes.

I scraped together enough cash from my open studio sales to pay an electrician to put in a 220 line for the kiln and an kiln expert to do an inspection.

I used the kiln months later to fire some new clay masks, but the wheel was pushed into a corner of the garage collecting dust.  You see, I’d had wheel throwing classes as a teenager.   I failed miserably.  I walked away from the wheel, embarrassed and turned to hand building, which I did well.  I told myself that I had to have wheel throwing classes to use the wheel and at the time, I couldn’t afford them.

A year went by and I just started teaching a mask making class that made me exactly the same amount of money as one wheel throwing class.  Even though times at home were still tough, I decided I would sign up for that one class.  The day I was to start class, my husband got a full-time job.  I was able to take two years of classes.

Now many years have passed.  My life has changed for the better in so many ways.  My wrist is healed and strong.  I have Jilly, my lovely lab in my life. My husband is happy working at what he loves and so am I.  I still make masks and mixed media pieces.  But because of open studios I, now know that I can throw in clay, after all.

So when you open your studio, remember to open your heart as well, because you never know what wonderful people you’ll meet and amazing things that might happen for you, too.

Open Studios Inspired Our Artists To Open Their Own Studios.

First, they were tour visitors.  They were inspired.  And then, with the open studio seed planted, they began to see the possibilities of becoming part of an open studio tour.

“Being in another artist’s studio space, watching them work, gave me the creative juice to go home and create something myself.  Learning little tips, seeing how they organized their studios was always inspiring to me,” says Pam Nichols, encaustic artist.

Potter, Karen French adds, “When I lived in Corvallis, I went to another artist’s open studio.  It was different from what Washington County Open Studios does.  It was more of a sale atmosphere.  But it did make me wonder how I could do something like it but offer more for people to do.”

“I visited many artists’ studios long before I ever thought of myself as an artist.  I loved watching and learning about different media.  But it was the artist’s stories that were most inspiring to me.  It made me see the possibilities of doing my own art.  And here I am, a few decades later, showing my work and doing my own open studios,” says Susan Gallacher-Turner, ceramic artist.

To Pam, visiting taught her so much about the importance of having a good feeling in a studio space and how that makes her art better.

 “Looking back on it now, I feel that artists, who were successful in their careers, had amazing spaces that you wanted to just be in.  Their studios were a work of art in itself.  I know that for my studio, it is important for me to have it feel good, no clutter, clean, great light, possible great view, having my things easily ready to use.  I think you can create this kind of space from beautiful large room to a part of a dining room.  Building a comfortable studio space can be an important step in making your art.”

Inspiration is everywhere on the Washington County Open Studios tour.  It not only gives both artists and art lovers a chance to share, learn and grow.  It also gave these artists encouragement to keep going and become successful artists.

Susan adds, “It just amazes me when I look back and see how far I’ve come in my creative life and I hope that I can inspire the creative spirit in all who come to my studio.  Because, you just never know, someday, they could be doing an open studio tour, too.”

Get inspired this weekend on the Washington County Open Studios Tour.  It's free.  Artist studios open Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm.  Tour map and information online at washcoart.org

See Art in the Making in Aloha This Weekend. Free.

“I’ll have 3 to 4 painting that I’ll be working on at the same time and each one will be started differently.  Like splatters for one, glued pattern making paper, modeling paste and stencils and so on and so forth.  It will be a surprise and fun to watch so come on by,” says Katrina Fowler, mixed media artist.

Get a free tour map at www.washcoart.org and spend Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19 from 11 am to 5 pm visiting art studios during Washington County Open Studios.  Forty artists will be demonstrating their techniques for you and some are right in your own Aloha neighborhood. 

 “I’ll demonstrate the whole process of silk painting from the initial drawing to painting the silk with the prepared dyes,” says Patti Isaacs, silk painter.

Ana Quinn, potter says, “When you visit my studio you may see me drawing or painting on pots.  You may also possibly see me trimming a ‘leather hard’ piece on my wheel.  Trimming refers to carving a ‘foot’ on the bottom of the pot, which also reduces the weight of the piece.”

You can see art in the making October 18 and 19 from 11 am to 5 pm in the suburbs and country during Washington County Open Studios.  Get a tour map and directions FREE at www.washcoart.org 

See Art in the Making in Forest Grove this Weekend. Free.

“Visitors will see me glazing or doing the raku process if they are there at the right moment. The raku process is really fun to watch, also I try to use different materials with my clay forms:  limbs from trees, nails, buttons, puzzle pieces, wire, ribbon, etc,” says Barb Hertel, Raku Artist.

Get a free tour map at www.washcoart.org and spend Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19 from 11 am to 5 pm visiting art studios during Washington County Open Studios.  Forty artists will be demonstrating their techniques for you and some are right in your own Aloha neighborhood. 

Painter Helvi Smith adds, “When people come to the studio - they will see my "gallery" first.   I LOVE the color orange and the walls are painted a deep vibrant orange and that is a big hint that there are few neutral colored paintings around here.”

You can see art in the making October 18 and 19 from 11 am to 5 pm in the suburbs and country during Washington County Open Studios.  Get a tour map and directions FREE at www.washcoart.org