Inside the Studio: Amanda Houston.

Creating art takes more than talent and inspiration, it takes time and space.  Every artist’s space is as unique as the art they create.  And that’s what makes the FREE Washington County Open Studios tour unique, too.  You get to visit the artist and see them create in their studios across Washington County. 

Today, you can get a quick inside look into one of our 41 artists on this year’s tour.  As well as an insight into their art process and what you might see on our tour, October 17^th  and 18^th.

Tell us a little about  your studio,  Amanda.

“My studio is located in the country about 10 minutes south of downtown Hillsboro, in an historic hunting lodge that we live in and have been remodeling for the past ten years. It is perched on a 30 acre knoll with a 360 degree view overlooking the Willamette Valley,  rolling pastoral scenes of farmland and vineyards, Mt. Hood to the east and the coastal range to the west). Our private 30 acres is farmed yearly by local farmers and has over an acre of perennial gardens and a pool on the property on which to stroll and enjoy. It is a destination place and if the weather is nice, we have done wine tastings in the past.”

Amanda, when you begin your work, what inspires you and/or gets you going?

“The vistas around my house are very inspiring but I am drawn more how the light of a subject than to the subject itself.” 

How did you find your way to art in spite of any obstacles in your path, Amanda?

“My mother was an oil painter when I was young.  I went on to study apparel design and worked as a Product Designer and Merchandiser for almost 20 years before having kids and giving fine art a try. I took some local pastel classes for fun and was hooked. In the past 10 years, I have taken numerous workshops to perfect my craft and now teach classes and show at national shows.”

 

Amanda, do you work with any weird, different material or techniques and how does that inspires you?

“As the former Innovation Director at Nike, my mind constantly wants to try new things. With a love for copper and copper sculpture I tried using Copper as my surface ground to work on and spent about a year perfecting a technique to get the pastel to stick to the copper. Pastel on copper is unique to me and I now produce about 30% of all my work on copper.  I also work on a variety of pastel papers and paint in the traditional format of oil on canvas.”

When people come to your studio, what will you be doing, Amanda?

“Depending on the crowd, I may be showing my process on copper or finishing a larger work on paper on my easel or just answering questions and processing orders.”

See Amanda’s art and get inspired October 17 and 18 from 11am to 5pm during the Washington County Open Studios tour.  Get a FREE tour map and information online at www.washcoart.org

Weird and Wonderful Makes Great Art.

Annie Salness at work

Our 2015 Washington County Open Studios Tour artists are a diverse group of creative minds.  So, it’s not surprising that some of our artists create with some very weird materials. 

Here’s a little peek into some of the weird and wonderful materials our artists use in their art.

Both Amanda Houston, pastel artist and Susan Gallacher-Turner, ceramic artist are using copper in creative ways in their work.

 

Amanda Houston

Amanda explains how pastels and copper work together.  “With a love for copper and copper sculpture I tried using Copper as my surface ground to work on and spent about a year perfect a technique to get the pastel to stick to the copper. Pastel on copper is unique to me and I now produce about 30% of all my work on copper.  I also work on a variety of pastel papers and paint in the traditional format of oil on canvas.”

Susan Gallacher-Turner, porcelain mask

Susan weaves copper back into her work. “I love mixing media.  Over the years, I’ve worked in watercolor, acrylic, oils, pastel, copper sheeting, window screening, beads, fabric and now, porcelain.  I always think I’m done with a media and have moved only to have it creep back into my work.  Right now, I use leaves in my clay and add copper wire and window screening to my masks.”

Jo Reimer and Annie Salness creatively mix in vintage and salvaged pieces into their mixed media work and paintings.

 

Jo Reimer's studio

 Jo explains, ”I also use vintage office paper, old letter, notes and lists, my uncle’s old sheet music and 1918 collage yearbook as well as a few bits of commercial paper from the art store.”

“I like the roughness and unpredictability of salvaged wood,” says Annie Salness.  “ It’s a catalyst giving me variety in my mixed media work.”

These are just a few of the weird and wonderful ways to create that you’ll get to see on this year’s tour.  It’s October 17 and 18^th from 11 am to 5 pm and it’s FREE.  You can find a tour map and information on all of our 41 artists online at www.washcoart.org

New Artists. New Art Work. New Places to Tour.

Denise McDonald

This year, 42 new artists are opening their studios October 17^th and 18^th giving art lovers young and old a chance to make art connections all across Washington County, Oregon.  

You’ll see demonstrations in a wonderful and eclectic range of art media.  Whether you’re interested in 3 D or 2 D art, there’s something for you.  See steel forging, glass fusing, weaving, wood working as well as throwing clay, mask making and copper repousse.   Watch an artist work with encaustics, watercolors, acrylic or oil on canvas, pastels, silk painting and more.

There might just be an artist right in your own Washington County neighborhood.  Whether you live in the city, suburbs or out in the country, we have artists on the tour from Aloha, Beaverton, Sherwood, Tigard and Portland to Banks, Cornelius, Forest Grove, Gaston, North Plains and Hillsboro.

Here are a few inspirations shared by some of our artists. 

Lorraine Pascuzzi says, “Seeing something beautiful in nature and letting the imagination take hold.”

 

Lorraine Pascuzzi

“I am inspired by all kinds of things. Nature, dreams, visual images, weird things that I see or experience,” says Sierra Lonepine Briano.

 

 

Sierra Lonepine Briano

Her inspiration, Darla Boljat says, “The challenge to recreate the beauty that I see.”

Darla Boljat

For artist, Ana Quinn, “My cats, ancient art forms, and the life cycle of the salmon.”

 

Ana Quinn

 Stay tuned here to read more blogs featuring individual artists as they talk about their inspirations, studios and work process.

To see some of the art before the tour, check out our new Pinterest page https://www.pinterest.com/WashCoArts

Find weekly and soon, daily updates on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-County-Art-Alliance

Figure out which artists are in your neighborhood on our website at  www.washcoart.org