Custom Framing and Local Fine Artwork in the Heart of Multnomah Village
This year, First Friday and Cinco de Mayo fall on the same day — what a great excuse to get out of the house and spend the evening in Multnomah Village! We’re open late and have a brand new show featuring the work of local artist Scott C. Johnson.
Although Scott C. Johnson’s landscape studies are rooted in plein air painting, early-on he began to add the little touches that rouse the imagination—the faint treetops that indicate a valley beyond the hill, or the tiny glint of water that tantalizes over a grassy dune. These hints at an unseen landscape beyond the one we see, were an introduction to his dream world.
Scott developed the soft washes of the Japanese tradition, as well as the refined linework of the Persian miniature. As he grew more confident with the brush, he also became more involved in meditational techniques, and the painting became more concerned with recording a process, a trance state, a finding of the happy accident, and less with a specific reality.
He is a developed sensual being, with an appreciation for music, dance and garden design. Scott’s love of nature, refreshed by frequent trips and hikes, is evident in his work, but its mood, often portrayed by impending weather, dominates the objects in the landscape. There are subtle references to change in the clouds and stronger references to death and loneliness in the leafless trees of his latest work, yet the mood is never hopeless, but lets us know that the next season, bringing the tiny leaves of Spring, is just beyond and approaching.
Scott’s work has been exhibited on the west coast since 1986 and is represented in private collections throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.
In the act of painting
it is my intent to express a beauty
my soul yearns to manifest
in imagery of lush colors and
open space.
The images often arrive out of waking or,
quiet [trance like] moments in their entirety.
When I am available to chase them down,
the ceremony of starting blossoms
into a myriad of new directions.
Thus the chase continues
and I will often not know the direction of a painting
until it is over half way done.
Mastering patience of the medium
and perserverance of vision
is the practice I have chosen.
We’re starting at 6 p.m. and everyone is invited. Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219. Can’t make it this Friday? Our exhibits are always open to the public during regular business hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm.
Subconscious Revelations: The Art of Spontaneous Collage by Shirona Lurie opened Tuesday. Tonight, meet Shirona and learn more about the intriguing images she creates in collage.
All of Shirona’s work is collage, constructed from cut or torn paper, and she has developed two very different, yet complementary series. “Color Meditations” and “Origins.”
Take a look — you can enlarge these images by clicking on them.
As always, our neighborhood shops are open late. Come eat, browse, shop, and meet up with friends in Multnomah Village.
Subconscious Revelations: The Art of Spontaneous Collage is open to the public at Village Frame & Gallery, 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219, Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm. No charge.
Come meet Shirona and see her intriguing collage work in person on First Friday. (Click images below to enlarge.)
What strikes one immediately upon looking at Shirona’s art is its stunning beauty. This is a rare thing. We are bombarded with images that are intended to be ironic, cynical, or that even celebrate ugliness, and so we have lost much of the power of beauty. But for thousands of years, the primary purpose of art was to elevate the human heart and spirit by showing us images of transcendent beauty. Through the contemplation of these images we glimpse a reality that is higher and truer than the mundane existence to which we can all too easily succumb. Beauty deeply moves us because it is ego-less; it is a servant that seeks only to discover and transmit. In this way, the experience of beauty is a spiritual encounter. This is exactly what one feels when looking at Shirona’s art.
All of Shirona’s work is collage, constructed from cut or torn paper, and she has developed two very different, yet complementary series. Her “Color Mediations” series are composed of carefully arranged squares of subtle and saturated colors. The rigor of the format focuses attention on the subtle relationship where edge meets edge, and reveals the beautiful sensuality of color itself. These glow with an inner light that seems to shine through the paper, sometimes pulsating, sometimes gently shimmering, and then dissolving back into the deep. Like Buddhist mandalas, these are images of contemplation and revelation.
Her “Origins” series, though also collages, break free from any formal constraints. They are made from dense layers of torn or cut paper, and at times use recognizable images: bodies, faces, flowers, rocks, and water. These works seem both mythic and monumental, as through we are witnessing primordial acts from hidden realms. The imagery in these is not literal or cerebral, but is intuitive and sensual. In one we sense a feminine sexuality bursting forth in an orgasmic flow of creation. In another we come through an opening, as though from one state of consciousness to the next. And in another we see what may be the formation of essential energies that seem to come from the beginning of time.
In both series, Shirona’s art is informed by a sense of reverence and seriousness in her craft. And all, unfailingly, come through Shirona’s ever-present eye for beauty.
There are still some great buys to be had on classic fine art, but get in here before the month — and the sale –end!
Exhibit opens Tuesday, April 4th and runs through Saturday, April 29th. Watch your email for more info about Shirona and her artwork.
We still have copies of In the Mist: Giving Voice to Silence and Life Beyond My Body: A Transgender Journey to Manhood in China for sale in the gallery.
An ode to the ethereal wonder of mist, this spectacular collaboration is comprised of exquisite images from photographer Russell J. Young accompanied by nuanced poems from seven esteemed Oregon poets. With soft, pale breath, the mist casts an undeniable veil of silence wherever it reaches — from the glassy face of a pond to the concrete underbelly of a bridge to the towering shoulders of a pine forest. These mist-clad Oregon landscapes and urban moments, along with their poetic responses, evoke the whisper of stillness. This book binds together poetry and photography in a relationship in which one is not excluded from the other, but rather both are met and bound and emerge as a new wholeness — a wholeness seeking that which is hidden in the mist and that which is revealed: silence, memory, breath.
In the Mist Photographer: Russell J. Young
In the Mist Poets: Margaret Chula, Cindy Williams Gutiérrez, Diane Holland, Andrea Hollander, Paulann Petersen (Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita), Donna Prinzmetal, Penelope Scambly Schott
Click here read the introduction of In the Mist.
Born in a rural Chinese village and identified as a girl at birth, Lei Ming, is barely cared for during his childhood. Often lonely, terrified and abused, he learns early to fend for himself and look within for answers, but there he discovers a paradox that threatens to undo him. Although he does not yet know the word “transsexual,” at 16, Ming sets out on a secret mission to find relief. Life Beyond My Body tells the true story of his quest to find answers in a society that is closed-mouthed about men like Ming.
Along the way, Ming finds solace and judgement in the Christian church, loves and loses a woman, begins his physical transition using black market testosterone, is jailed over his identity, and arranges for top surgery without blowing his cover. But ultimately, understanding the true meaning of being a man will require reckoning with God.
Life Beyond My Body Authors: Lei Ming and Lura Frazey
Read the Foreword by Lambda Literary Award-winning author Willy Wilkinson at LifeBeyondMyBody.com. “Chapter 1: Who Can Give a Man His Name?” is available at Transfaith.org.
Village Frame & Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm, or by appointment, at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219 — right in the heart of Multnomah Village.
February is an exciting month at Village Frame and Gallery!
Find that perfect gift for someone you love. This First Friday only, from 6 pm – 9 pm, we have a Trunk Show of fine jewelry by Amerinda Alpern, with new pieces sure to quicken someone’s heart! Check these out (click to enlarge):
In this series of glass sculpture there are endless visual metaphors at play. The works on glass and paper are interactive with both electric light and natural sunlight, during the course of a day and during the seasons of a year. Symbolically the shapes of structure, home or temple mirror the light and shadow that we both live in and the light that lives within us. Ten percent of all sales from Amerinda’s show will be donated to the ACLU (click to enlarge):
Inspired by the beauty of the northwest, my jewelry collection features my interpretations of plants I found growing in Portland Oregon coupled with nature’s geometry and reduced to classic mid-century shapes and designs. I am fascinated with how nature grows, whether it’s the slight difference between leaves on a tree or the subtle variations in the human form. Geometry continues to hold my visual and emotional attention.
Hand Thrown Fine Ceramics by Carson CulpCarson Culp is a self-taught ceramic artist who shared a double duty at the Multnomah Arts Center for three years as a Ceramic Technician and Youth Clay Instructor. During his time in Portland he was employed at Mudshark Studios and an apprentice at Kelly Pottery. Carson is influenced by traditional Japanese ceramics expressing that with his wood fired and high-fired celadon work. He is drawn to making functional forms that show balance and quality with a fluid and inorganic style. Carson has been accepted to a one year apprenticeship at the Leach Pottery in Cornwall, UK where he will work alongside the production team and focus on his craft. His
goal is to start a wood fire pottery/gallery and pass on his life experiences to other emerging ceramic artists.
Born in a rural Chinese village and identified as a girl at birth, Lei Ming, is barely cared for during his childhood. Often lonely, terrified and abused, he learns early to fend for himself and look within for answers, but there he discovers a paradox that threatens to undo him. Although he does not yet know the word “transsexual,” at 16, Ming sets out on a secret mission to find relief. Life Beyond My Body tells the true story of his quest to find answers in a society that is closed-mouthed about men like Ming.
Along the way, Ming finds solace and judgement in the Christian church, loves and loses a woman, begins his physical transition using black market testosterone, is jailed over his identity, and arranges for top surgery without blowing his cover. But ultimately, understanding the true meaning of being a man will require reckoning with God.
Buy your copy at Village Frame & Gallery today!
We are at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219. Our regular business hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm.
This month, Village Frame & Gallery is featuring the artwork of the seven talented Bridge City Artists! Plus, we are hosting a trunk show of Amerinda Alpern’s jewelry.
Friday, November 4th, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Friday, Nov 4th, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Saturday, Nov 5th, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
I was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. After attending the University of Wisconsin, I spent four years living in Germany, traveling Europe and seeing art I had previously only read about. It was during this time that my interest in art and architecture became immediate and alive– and I began painting. I was hooked! When returning to the States, my curiosity about art and art history continued and led to Portland State University, bachelors and masters degrees, followed by post- graduate classes at Pacific Northwest College of Art. Throughout a 20 year practice in psychotherapy, art was a constant presence. At this time, still curious and inspired, I’m painting full-time and remain involved in art community.
Painting with encaustic and cold wax medium (pigmented beeswax) is my foremost means of expression of emotions, experiences, images, and interactions with others as well as nature.
The encaustic medium is process-oriented. Much time is dedicated to heating, scraping, layering, preparing the substrate, and mixing medium. The painting construct of revealing, covering and re-revealing with an often surprising and different consequence. The fluid nature of the encaustic process lends itself to exploration of forms and patterns which combine structured and unstructured shapes. The medium allows the application of translucent and opaque layers, building a complex and varied underpainting. The process demands flexibility, using a heating process which accounts for unexpected changes in composition, form, and color.
Other than relationships with people (hence the focus on figural work), water is my life’s common recurring theme. It has appeared in vivid dreams since childhood, and in my adult reality it rules my life as I swim, kayak, snorkel, boat, do underwater photography, and live part-time on 2 islands. Water is a challenging element to capture artistically, since it istranslucent / transparent / reflective. Its ever-changing nature distorts elements within and reflects elements without. The translucence of encaustic wax lends itself admirably to this element.
My paintings reflect my connection to water as well as the figure. My two recurring themes. Color, shape, form, value, texture, and line work together to achieve the depiction of both, using the demanding medium of encaustic and cold wax.
I’ve delighted in creating art in one form or another, since my drawings-on-the-wall at home in Brooklyn at age five. The wall was blank and I had something to say. I may not be far from that, these many years later.
Art is a good and constant friend, a place to be, providing a voice that gives expression to relationships, challenges, joys, whimsies and sadness. To not create, would be to silence a part of me.
My portfolio includes whimsical paintings and linocuts, along with black and white etchings. I’m fortunate in being part of No. 2 Print Shop in Portland, Oregon where printmakers share ideas, inspiration, perspiration and presses.
My work is multilayered, beginning with a freely painted drawing, each layer of transparent paint and collage paper shape informing the next, even when the earlier layers are ultimately painted over and become visual history. I attempt to leave the marks of the initial drawing, as well as the transparent visual history as part of the surface. This layering creates luminosity and richness. This allows my understanding of the image to evolve — it is a dance between the additive and subtractive elements.
I like the physicality of paint, the tools that apply it, and the energy necessary to apply it to the surface. My work is a personal interpretation expressed through imagery. I seek to create a work that is intriguing, enables a viewer to make discoveries with each viewing, and to ponder meaning and connection to their personal world.
The Kemet/Deshret series of paintings emerged after six trips to Egypt. I was intrigued by the obsession of the ancient Egyptians with duality. Their dualistic perspective emerged in their view of the universe, their religion, the concept of Upper and Lower Egypt, and the nature of their land as Kemet, the rich, fertile border of the Mother Nile, and Deshret, the barren desert beyond. The paintings in this series reflect my meditations on the starkly dualistic beauty and profound influence of the land of Kemet and Deshret.
Surrealists and Abstract Expressionists used psychic automatism, a type of automatic drawing, to evoke pure, visual essence from their subconscious minds. I have appropriated and modified their method in my own work. My paintings often begin by pouring color and making marks on a pigmented and textured ground. I allow the emerging shapes and overlaps of color to urge my subconscious to participate in and respond to the serendipitous interaction of gravity, atmosphere, absorption, manipulation, and the addition of other media. In this manner, my paintings seek a balance between accident and intention. My non-objective, mixed media pieces are created with a variety of materials, including acrylic paints and gels, metal leaf, Japanese papers, fabric, dry pigments, and plaster to enhance visual impact and to create unique textures. In my work I use color, texture, rhythm, transparency, and luminosity seeking to express that which is ephemeral, profound, and universal.
I am a painter in Portland, Oregon and growing up in a musical family exposed me to the arts as a way of life. My work has the look and unmistakable color of the northwest. I am heavily influenced by my many years spent on the east side of the Cascades where the sky is blue and the land is golden. I am not as interested in realism as I am in creating an emotional response through color. Although I paint from memory, it is a thrill to have someone look at one of my paintings and tell me they know the exact location.
Recently I have been working on a body of work called “The Space We Share”, a nod to the accomplishments of astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly and the exploration and wonder outside our world. This series has a different style and message so it has been fun for me to experiment with mixed media and sumi ink.
When I am not painting I am usually thinking about it, the wonderful artists I’ve met along the way and the anticipation of creative times ahead.
I am a painter and printmaker. I allow myself the freedom of indecisions, improvisations, and impulsiveness in my work, and that leads to exciting discoveries. I have worked extensively in acrylics and oils. My most recent medium is encaustic and its very different technique of painting with wax and heat. This medium has given me a new way to explore my art.
I am interested in line, color and how movement is portrayed in a two dimensional space. Process is an important part of the work. I make my own medium and pigmented wax. The texture and translucency possible with this medium has allowed me new explorations. While working on the substrate and exploring color and design, a conversation begins to form between myself and the creative act as it happens in real time. Images form and transform as I work, sometimes figurative, sometimes non-objective or abstract. When the piece is done, hopefully the conversation has led to a work of art that is both personal and universal in nature.
Jeweler Amerinda AlpernInspired by the beauty of the northwest, this jewelry collection features my interpretations of plants I found growing in Portland Oregon coupled with nature’s geometry and reduced to classic mid-century shapes and designs. I am fascinated with how nature grows, whether it’s the slight difference between leaves on a tree or the subtle variations in the human form. Geometry continues to hold my visual and emotional attention.
Amerinda Alpern holds a MFA in Sculpture from Colorado State University and a BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts. She also trained with Alan Revere, founder of the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts.
Family and friends of George Woodcock and Marie Bonamici Woodcock are invited to a celebration of George Woodcock’s life October 23, 206 at 2 p.m. at the Multnomah Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the American Cancer Society.
George Woodcock was born in Detroit, Michigan. Following an early interest in art, he always drew and painted in his spare time, even when working as a draftsman and designer for automobile companies. In 1975 he gave up working for other people to devote his time to art. He opened his studio/gallery, first in Dearborn and later in Northville, Michigan. He and his wife Marie moved to West Stockbrigde, Massachusetts and had a gallery in the Berkshires for 17 years.
Although primarily self-taught, George studied for a period of time with Art Hartman, well-known Michigan landscape artiest, and also attended Art Student’s League in New York, where he studied with Robert Angeloch.
After moving to Portland, George has took courses at the Oregon College of Art and Craft and Portland Community College, and he studied with Dorothy Fitzgerald. He exhibited in national shows, local juried shows, and one-man shows in Portland and at the Enid Mount Gallery in Keizer, Oregon. He was a member of the Oregon Society of Artists, North Clackamas Arts Guild, Beaverton Arts Commission, and the Lake Area Artists. George also taught basic drawing and painting in his studio in Multnomah Village.
George continued to paint at his studio above Fat City Cafe in Multnomah Village until he was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away on the afternoon of October 5, 2016 — and then a rainbow appeared over Portland.
If you loved what you saw last year, join us Friday night, starting at 6 p.m. for the exhibit opening.
I was born and raised in El Paso,Texas, have a BFA from the University of Texas El Paso, and MA and MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa were I graduated with honors. I am currently the Dean of the Visual and Performing Arts and Design Division at Portland Community College Sylvania Campus in Portland, Oregon.
I began my printmaking journey in 1987 and have been making and exhibiting my prints since. I venture from black and white imagery to full color printing, all my works are hand wiped and printed. These are all original prints, that is to say they are not photocopied nor mass produced. I print a limited edition usually 10-15 prints per edition. Each edition is unique.
My works are self portraits and are influenced by literature, music, politics, religion and everyday activities. My images have been described as humorous, insightful, and disturbing. Viewers often find my works to be thought provoking and challenging. I enjoy challenging the viewer and the preconceived notions of what we take for granted. My works allow the viewer to immerse themselves into another world with reoccurring characters that tiptoe between the surreal and the absurd, a world where anything can and often does happen.
See you First Friday: October 7, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Village Frame & Gallery, 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219, or any time in October during regular business hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm. As always, our exhibits are free and open to the public.
As a photographer and artist, my goal is to create realistic images and prints of natural landscapes that encourage people to spend time in the wild, appreciating and protecting it. And for when those people are not in the wild, I want my prints to remind them of the natural world and help shape the choices they make.
Scott Cordner was destined to become a fine-art landscape photographer. A browse through his portfolio illustrates his passion for the medium and the outdoors.
The pure, unaltered and uncomplicated scenes are captured in the finest light. His exacting prints are made with the best materials that last lifetimes. Hand made hardwood frames from renewable and managed forests are enhanced and finished with environmentally friendly oils and a water-based polyurethane (made from whey, a byproduct of cheese). No detail is overlooked, and it is apparent.
Scott grew up in the rural Allegheny Mountains of northwest Pennsylvania in the town of Bradford. He spent most of his childhood outdoors, exploring the hills and forests, observing the flora and fauna, cementing his relationship with nature. But when indoors, Scott drew inspiration from his Grandfather, Jack McCutcheon.
Scott loved to draw just like his Grandfather, a self-taught painter and award-winning advertising manager for Zippo Lighters. Like many children, Scott’s artistic creativity was nurtured. In the 8th grade ‘Design an Ad’ contest, Scott took first place with a hand-drawn advertisement for a local Chrysler dealership.
His Grandfather also had a deep connection with the outdoors and wrote a weekly hunting and fishing column for the Bradford Era. He also respected Native American people and their culture, which were often the subject of his paintings.
During middle school Scott took some photography classes, where he learned to develop and print his own photographs. He excelled in math and science, and learned from his father how to take apart and fix things. It was a more traditional career path and one he pursued academically in high school and in college. While his passion for photography still consumed his free time, a degree in Electrical Engineering guaranteed him work and a job designing test equipment brought him to Southern California.
Frustrated with the confines of employment, Scott decided to put his engineering career on hold and set out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in its entirety – from the Mexican border to Canada. He brought along his first SLR to document the trip, a Canon Rebel 35mm with a kit zoom lens. Six months, four pairs of shoes, thirty-five pounds, 50 rolls of Fuji Velvia later Scott knew he had rekindled his love for the outdoors and his passion for photography. Even now, more than 20 years later, Scott entertains audiences with that early slide show of that 2700-mile trek.
Hiking had put things in perspective for Scott and he took a pragmatic approach when he returned to the workforce. He earned his living mostly through technical work as an engineer while honing his craft as a photographer and printmaker. Those years were special for Scott because weekends were devoted to road trips that introduced him to the iconic landscapes of the American West.
It would still take another ten years before Scott could pursue photography full time but those years weren’t wasted. During those years and after, Scott continued to combine adventure travel with fine art and outdoor photography. He has trekked and mountaineered in Peru documenting the remarkable landscape and the Quechua culture. Scott climbed and stood on the summit of Denali, North America’s tallest peak, and has captured the magnificent hostility of the mountains.
He traveled to Russia’s Lake Baikal – the largest and deepest fresh water lake in the world – in 2002 as part of a team of four to kayak the remote northeast shoreline. While the Russian landscape was stunning, it was the Russian people who captivated him and set the stage for a return visit.
It was then that Scott developed his interest in using his travels and his images to document people and places that matter. Scott used his second trip to Russia’s Far East to promote ‘sustainable travel.’ He photographed the entire month-long expedition to Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, including the people and his team’s use of public transportation for self-powered, ski touring instead of the normal skiing style – heli-skiing. His images appeared in Backcountry magazine in connection with an article written about the remote region of Mount Bakening, a now extinct volcano located in the center of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
With the explosion of digital photography and printing, Scott drew from his technical background and started scanning his film and slides. Using digital cameras, he eliminated film and the harsh chemicals used to develop it from his practice. He started producing images with pigment inkjet printers. His printing style removes chemical processing from the equation and will last hundreds of years instead of fading like traditional color prints.
Desiring to create a better overall presentation of his photographs, six years ago Scott experimented with woodworking and now crafts his own frames. His process includes milling the wood by hand to create strikingly simple frames that naturally complement his photographs.
Scott is fast-becoming known for his large, panoramic prints, which capture the quiet magnificence and individuality of ordinary scenes. In fact, he shies away from more common and well-known iconic landscapes. “I am so proud to hang Scott’s work in our Gallery. His photos have such emotion, movement and vibrancy,” says Tamara Breunig, owner of United Wood Craftsmen Gallery. “You feel like they are a window to his world. His talent for capturing the moment is so real. It’s as if one could just walk into the photos and explore the spot where he took them. His work has such a sense of peace, and our clientele thinks so too.”
Collectors demand for his prints has grown because they feel a connection to the scene. Scott shows his work at art exhibits and fairs, in lifestyle retail stores and in fine art galleries. Scott has also sold collections of his finished prints to corporate offices. One of his corporate clients said this of his work, “Everyone is still raving about the prints, Scott. Thanks again for sharing your talent!”
Scott is focusing on conservation photography. He believes if someone notices an image of his, it becomes an opportunity to start a dialog about nature in general and the importance of preservation specifically. His ultimate goal is to create more stewardship of these important though lesser-known places throughout the world.
Our First Friday artist’s reception is free and open to the public from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Village Frame & Gallery, 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219. Scott’s work will be exhibited at the Gallery throughout the month of September, so if you can’t make it this Friday, come see us any time during normal business hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm.