Pacific Northwest Sculptors

Sculptors share knowledge and resources

member meeting

PICNIC IN THE PARK

Sculpture organization open to all interested in sculpture

Sculptors sharing knowledge and resources

MEET-UP • CONNECT • ENJOY

George Rogers Park in Lake Oswego

on Saturday August 28th from 5-8PM

All Attendees must wear a mask per Oregon mandate.

In lieu of August’s 4th Wednesday of the month member meeting, please join us for our first annual member picnic. We will meet at Picnic Shelter #2, at GEORGE ROGERS PARK in Lake Oswego on Saturday August 28th from 5-8PM. Enjoy the offerings of the park and, socialize with fellow members and their guests in a fun casual environment. Social distancing measures will be in place for everyone’s safety.

Picnic Shelter #2

Our meeting place, Picnic Shelter #2 is located on Furnace St. between the two park entrances, Ladd St. and Green St., between the children’s play ground and the HISTORIC 1866 IRON FURNACE. It is directly across from sculpture #59 Fairy Tree on the GALLERY WITHOUT WALLS tour.

George Rogers Park in Lake Oswego

LOCATION

GEORGE ROGERS PARK IN LAKE OSWEGO, 611 S. State St, Lake Oswego, Or. We are meeting at Picnic Shelter #2 located on Furnace St. between the two park entrances, Ladd St. and Green St.

Map of George Rogers Park

TIME: 5-8PM

WHAT TO BRING

All Attendees must wear a mask per Oregon mandate.

• A dish to share, if you don’t have one, come anyway!

• You may bring non-alcohol beverages. Per park rules, the organizers, PNWS, will be providing and serving alcohol beverages such as beer and wine. We will also have non-alcohol beer and flavored sparkling beverages on hand.

• Yard games such as Bocce or Petanque. A permanent ring toss game is available on site.

• Bring a friend! This is a great opportunity to introduce artists and supporters of the arts to our organization. ALL ARE WELCOME!

RELEVANT LINKS

If you are interested in viewing the outdoor sculptures of Lake Oswego, be sure to check out the informative links below.

Fairy Tree, by John Uppinghouse, sculpture across from picnic shelter #2

Thinking about taking to the trail?

Water activities including kayak, canoe, and SUP offered at the park!

RSVP not necessary, yet appreciated. If you find yourself free up til the last minute, please come!

eXtended Reality

Possibilities and trends of 3D visualization for Sculpture

Presenter: Miguel Arias, Founder and CEO of Prefixa,
Miguel Arias is an innovator in photorealistic, augmented reality, and virtual reality imaging. Prefixa has operations in Silicon Valley, Mexico, and France.

XR (eXtended Reality) encompasses all the 3D visualization technologies like Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality, and other 3D techniques that can display artworks, products and objects inside immersive 3D environments.

This presentation gives an overview of the existing technologies and how art pieces, specially Sculptures, can be scanned and integrated into interactive 3D showrooms, virtual reality exhibits, or augmented reality visualizations. The first step is to convert the art piece into a 3D representation, either with 3D scanning, photogrammetry techniques, or 3D modeling. Once the artwork is converted into 3D, it opens the opportunity to exhibit, experience, and share it with the world in a variety of virtual ways. Artists can host exhibits in 3D worldwide, museums can document and create 3D catalogs of their collections and new digital tools and workflows help to showcase and sell art online. Some trends will be discussed, from Augmented Reality, VR-eCommerce, and 3D NFTs.

Finally, some alternatives to 3D scanning were introduced, including Prefixa’s photogrammetry from video conversion, the XR-ROOM platform to host 3D exhibits for artists and custom apps for AR, digital catalogs or VR exhibits. The presentation shows web 3D interactive and virtual reality examples created by xr-room.com

Devin Laurence Field

June 2021 Monthly Meeting

Devin (a PNWS founding member) opened up his studio for our first in-person meeting in over a year.

Devin Laurence Field is unique among contemporary large-scale metal sculptors because of the level of articulation he achieves in directly fabricated steel. Not sculpted in clay then cast in metal, or hammered in thin sheet onto a sculpted pattern, his work is cut, forged, pressed, welded, ground and polished using thick plate steels.

Predominantly commissioned for public sites, these sculptures are complex yet graceful representations of ideas and concepts developed around a particular place, event or setting. Each sculpture is unique, usually site specific and always poignant in its message. The art of Devin Laurence Field brings together universal

and archetypal symbolism, the history of a given site or culture, and natural forms to communicate ideas about the evolution of the complex relationship between people, the built environment and the natural world. While growing up in New Zealand, Devin traveled throughout the South Pacific, Australasia, Europe and the Americas. A fifth generation artist, Devin studied art in New Zealand, England, France, Japan and the United States, earning three degrees in the Arts including a Master of Fine Art in Sculpture.

Russell Ford

May 2021 Monthly Meeting

Member Profile

Russell was smitten by sculpting in high school and returned to the classroom as a career art educator. Now retired after 25 years as a classroom teacher of art at both middle and high school levels, Russell is exploring, with passion, the medium he shared with his students.

While teaching:

  • 2015 Art educators exhibition Maryhill Museum, Washington
  • 2015 Washington State Secondary level art educator of year
  • 2016 Washington State art educator of the year

Since retiring he has been busy:

  • 2016- Aurora Gallery Vancouver, WA.
  • 2017 Artist-in-residence, WayiWayi Studios, Livingstone, Zambia.
  • 2017 – 2021
    • Clark County Open Studios
    • The Cave gallery
    • Vancouver Public Library
    • Oregon Society of Artists

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.

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.

pnws-mcalister

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.

Sculptors Near Me – How Collaboration makes us all better sculptors

Perhaps the most valuable feature of a group as diverse as ours is that we’re such a diverse group. Every meeting I’ve attended has resulted in some insight, recommendation, introduction, new product idea, new connection that I had not expected from someone I had not known before. Networks like ours are rich with opportunities like that. I would love to see more members attend more meetings to expand the mix of potential intersections even further.

Another benefit of our monthly meetings is seeing the workspaces and processes of our members. I never get bored learning about how other artists think, work and manage life. It’s a juggling act we all experience. Sharing those experiences gives us more options to solve our own challenges with new ideas. There’s always someone within reach who can offer advice, support or perspective. 

And that brings me to the next point. Before Isabelle and Paul moved to the Alps, they were our most dedicated volunteers. They did so many things, every month, without fail. We knew when they left it would create a large hole in our organization. And, we knew it would take some time to motivate others to take leadership. It’s starting to happen.

I was extremely pleased this past week with the effort of Alan Newberg, James Finnigan, Michele Collier, Nancy Bocek and Robert E. Gigliotti who put together this month’s epic, 12-page “Calls For Entry” list. What an incredible job these members did! The listings were thoughtfully screened from a larger set of sources than ever before. I think this monthly service is incredibly valuable. I’m glad it’s back on track. Many thanks to our team.

We’re a volunteer organization. As a member, whatever your level of commitment to PNWS, consider taking it up a notch. Maybe you can’t commit to a monthly task, but consider what you can offer. Show up at a meeting. Host a meeting. Write an article. Recruit another sculptor to join the group. Don’t underestimate the value of what you know or what you can share. Being there is, in itself, a benefit.