Events

PNWS International Sculpture Day

April 24, 2020 – Noon-3:00

Oregon Society of Artists, Pacific Northwest Sculptors and Helensview School celebrate International Sculpture Day through a collaborative sculpture project.

“Unrecognized” is the theme of this unique sculpture project. The live and virtual event honors artists whose contributions or participation has been excluded, ignored or never acknowledged. The theme was inspired by a recent installation in Mt. Tabor Park, a bust of York, a member of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. York was a slave.

Though he was a full participant in the expedition, he received no credit and remained a slave long after his contribution ended. A monumental sculpture titled “York” was installed by an anonymous artist to honor the contribution of York instead of himself.

Chayo Wilson will lead a group of students in a collaborative “stacked” sculpture during the live event.

The collaborative event will include students from Helensview School as they create elements for a “stacked sculpture.” Each student will create one layer of the stack in clay. Once glazed and fired, layers will be stacked to create a tower. The finished sculpture will be displayed in the garden adjacent the entry at OSA.

The live stream Zoom event will include observations by leadership from Helensview School, OSA and interviews with members of Pacific Northwest Sculptors. Viewing via Zoom opens the door to observe, listen and even create an element of your own.

Pacific Northwest Sculptors is an educational nonprofit of contemporary sculptors serving the public through sculpture education programs and sculpture exhibitions. It is a dynamic, inclusive community of working artists who inspire and support each other’s growth with ideas, skills, and knowledge.

OSA promotes the visual arts in the diverse communities of the region, with educational and exhibition opportunities for artists at all levels of accomplishment.

International Sculpture Day is organized by the International Sculpture Center, its affiliates and chapters worldwide. Pacific Northwest Sculptors participates in this event each year featuring demonstrations, talks and interactive activities.

Zoom Details

This event is open to the public. All attendees will need to register in advance.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event.

April 2021 Board Meeting

April 23rd, 2021 – 10:00am

All members are encouraged to attend board meetings. Your input and ideas are how we move forward.

Contact Chas for a Zoom invitation.
Be inspired!

Scott Price – Price Sculpture Forest

March 2021 Monthly Meeting

https://SculptureForest.org

Scott had a vision for a special place:

• that provides the local community and island visitors with a healthy, relaxing, educational, and fun experience that integrates nature with art in a preserved habitat.
• where artists are provided a respected and supportive venue to exhibit their art for interested visitors and patrons
• that will become self‐sustaining as an integrated participant within the larger Whidbey Island arts and parks community

The recently opened Price Sculpture Forest on central Whidbey Island, Washington is that place.

Scott shared with us his journey to the opening, a picture tour, his long term plans for the site, and how sculptors can participate.

2021 Annual Meeting

Members Only Annual Meeting

Although PNWS can’t host a social gathering* due to COVID-19 restrictions it is still important for the membership to meet.

The Annual Meeting gives the Board a chance to share:

Highlights from the past year
What we are currently working on
plans for the future

January 27th, 2021 – 7:00 pm

We are also excited to show you our new website!

Agenda

Welcome
President’s Message
Board Election Results
Treasurer’s Report
Membership Update
Volunteer Update
New Website Debut

McAlister Merchant – Cast Glass Sculpture

November 2020 Monthly Meeting

mcalistermerchant.com

Cast glass sculptor, McAlister Merchant was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. McAlister took his first art classes at the age of 8 at the Art Institute of Chicago. Several schools and careers later in the early 1970s, McAlister moved to Los Angeles to attend the Art Center College of Design, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Design.

After Art Center, he won numerous awards for his work with Los Angeles area companies and clients, including Circle Industries, Vivitar, and several industrial design firms.

In the early 1980s, he began working with computers and became a self taught computer programmer and database specialist and wrote

magazine articles about using, customizing, and maintaining computers. In 1993, he joined Microsoft in Redmond, WA as a technical writer. In 2001 he retired and returned to his artistic roots.

McAlister creates sculptures in clay, creates a ceramic mold and, in a kiln, casts glass into the mold to get a range of effects from opaque to translucent glass. He also works in acrylic paint and pastel, teaching himself and learning from his friends.

Maria Wickwire

October 2020 Monthly Meeting

mariawickwire.com

Maria began to create sculptures revealing archetypal experiences of women when she first put her hands into clay. Since then, she has shown her work in Portland and SW Washington before moving to the Skagit Valley, where she now lives and creates in her studio overlooking Big Lake in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Maria has shown at the Perry and Carlson Gallery in Mt. Vernon, WA. “This new body of work springs from an internal conversation that has taken on new intensity during recent months when sheltering in place makes forays to the natural world feel even more precious. Although, between a pandemic and the fires raging all around us, we humans are experiencing a taste of what it’s like to be endangered, this work is a celebration of our Mother Nature and her willingness to regrow and nurture our spirits.“

Maria Wickwire is a ceramic sculptor from Mt. Vernon, Washington. She shares specific details about her amazing sculptures at the October 2020 meeting of Pacific Northwest Sculptors.

Jennifer Corio and Dave Frei

September 2020 Monthly Meeting

cobaltdesignworks.com

Sharing what they have learned about creating large scale artwork for public spaces.

Jennifer Corio & Dave Frei are a husband and wife artist team who create sculptures for public settings using a wide variety of metals, fabrication techniques and finishes. The couple aspires to lift spirits and brighten the world through art. They work towards this mission by turning metal into graceful forms of movement & flow and finishing them with vibrant colors that add luster to landscapes and levity to moods.

Both came to art making after careers in engineering and business in the high-tech field. Jennifer started creating sculptures in 2001 while taking a welded sculpture class at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. She found a natural affinity for design and loved the challenge of taming a cold, rigid material like metal into elegant forms. Helping Jennifer in the studio allowed Dave to get back to his metalworking roots from his earlier years of building racecars and the trailers to haul them on. Over time Jennifer has focused her energies on design, evolving her style into a balanced union of clean lines, soft curves, and a playful sophistication, while Dave has honed the craft of building them.

The couple officially merged their skills in 2008 when they launched their artistic metal work business, Cobalt Designworks, in Vancouver, Washington. They have a growing public art collection of 19 large works around the Pacific Northwest.

Presentation by Cobalt Designworks from Vancouver, Washington on creating large scale public art. Informative perspective on how to go from small pieces to complex large work.

Alisa Looney and Wade Womack

August 2020 Monthly Meeting

alooney.com
wadewomack.com

Oregon Artists Alisa Looney, and Wade Womack have been creating art together in the Northwest for over 35 years. They grew up in opposite ends of their native state of Idaho, and met in the middle in the Art Department of Boise State University. They have collaborated in art and life ever since. Recently relocated from Portland, they now call Bend their home, and are loving it! They have opened riverARTadventures studio, where they create original sculpture, prints and jewelry, and teach workshops in drawing, woodblock printing and kiln-fired enamel (glass) on steel. Since the covid outbreak they have been focused on building online courses, soon to be launched.

Alisa is best known for her award winning outdoor sculptures which have been exhibited in the U.S. and Canada. Her work is in a multitude of private and public collections, including Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, WA, and several U.S. cities in the Northwestern states of Oregon, Idaho and Washington. She expresses her ideas through sculpture, dance, painting and enameling. She loves creating narrative images in glass, fused to the surface of her metal sculptures, and enjoys teaching these enameling techniques through in-depth workshops.

Wade studied design and printmaking at BSU, receiving his BA in 1984. He works primarily with the reduction woodblock printing technique and currently teaches relief printing and drawing. After 30 years as a printer and master framer, Wade is applying his knowledge of craft to 3-dimensional pieces he calls “Total Art”, which engage multiple senses: visual, auditory, experiential and time based, to bring a deeper appreciation of our environment and that which surrounds us.

Archived Meeting Video