November Harkens the Holiday Season

November is here and it’s time to celebrate our featured artists in anticipation of the holiday season!

Sweet Valentine – Carol Boudreau

We have such beautiful artwork to share with you this month by Carol Boudreau, Leslee Burtt and Chris Warren, and Vicki Brigden.

It’s always nice to put a face with the artwork you fall in love with, so please come to our First Thursday opening on November 7 to meet the artists and enjoy the comaraderie of our gallery artists and supporters. We can’t wait to see you!

First Thursday – November 7
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Music by John Crocker

About this month’s artists

Leslee Burtt and Chris Warren – gourds & baskets

Leslee and Chris have been basketry artists for over twenty five years. They have shown in galleries in the Western United States, participated in many art shows, have had their work in the Pendleton Catalog and have been published in the recent book 500 baskets by Lark Press.

“We enjoy working with the gourds and baskets together as it provides us with an opportunity to try new ideas and materials,” Leslie/Chris.

Gourds are vessels created by nature. They are some of the first containers that primitive man utilized to hold water, grains, seeds and household items. Gourds are available in many shapes and sizes which afford us a infinite variety from which to choose.

After harvesting, the gourds take up to a year to cure and dry. While drying, the gourds develop a natural mold which gives the gourds its beautiful color and texture. The gourds must be prepared by cleaning the outside of the gourds prior to cutting. The inside of the gourds must also be scraped and cleaned. Dye and paint is then applied to the inside and outside of the gourds to prepare it for the decorative materials. Wood burning techniques are also used before embellishment of the gourds. We use date stems, philodendron sheaths, pine needles and rafia. Stone and semi-precious beads are used to embellish the gourds.

About Leslee Burtt

Leslee Burtt

I have always loved hiking and camping in the mountains and forests of the Pacific Northwest and I feel very fortunate to be able to combine my art with my love of the outdoors.

Most of my baskets feature naturally-shed antlers from North American deer, moose, elk and caribou. I use natural materials including cedar bark, cherry bark, seagrass and reed, to create stylized baskets that reflect the natural grace of the antlers.

My weaving techniques combine traditional Appalachian styles with contemporary methods.

About Chris Warren

I began my weaving activities in 1987 when I signed up for a variety of classes at a local Art Center. These classes included photography, woodworking, pottery, and basket weaving. While I enjoyed all the classes, weaving quickly became my favorite. Learning the different weaving processes and how they change with different materials has opened the door to limitless possibilities.

My focus is on using materials from the NW, and I spend many weeks each year gathering most of what I use. I take great personal pleasure in knowing that I can make something from materials that would otherwise die, decay, or be destroyed. Starting in the late spring with permits from the U.S. Forest Service, I gather cedar bark and wild cherry bark where trees have blown down or need to be thinned, and continuing through the summer harvesting sedges, cattails, iris leaves, and anything else that might be useable. Storms have also brought many unexpected treasures, and I have even surprised road maintenance crews by asking if I could rummage through their brush piles!

I have been involved in “Tree School” for several years, working with other basket weavers in educating the small timber companies that there is more to the trees than just its lumber value. Most have no idea how valuable the roots and bark are to weavers, and it enables us to get more use from every tree that is cut.

I have exhibited my work in a variety of art shows and won several awards including Best of Show in 1998 at the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. Photos of my work have been published in an instruction book on baskets, and also 500 Baskets. I currently have my work in several galleries in Oregon, Washington, and Montana, and have shown in Montana, Idaho, Utah, California, and Colorado as well.

About Carol Boudreau

Carol Boudreau began her painting in earnest after retiring from a 30-year career as an elementary educator in both Oregon and Alaska. As a native Oregonian, she earned degrees from the University of Oregon and Eastern Oregon University. After retirement, she has taken many painting workshops and classes.

Carol also sells her work and teaches classes in watercolor painting at her Alder Ridge Studio in West Longview.

Carol’s art features a realistic style using bright colors and a wide range of subject matter. Her florals and landscapes are inspired by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. The qualities of luminosity and high color intensity make watercolors especially exciting for her to use.

Carol’s featured artist collection displays recent works reflecting new approaches in style and technique that she has experimented with to grow as an artist, including some acrylic paintings. There is no particular theme because her intent in painting is to save the colors, the atmosphere, the feelings, the composition of a scene which has inspired her by spending time focusing on the various intricacies of that subject.

Her hope is that by painting scenes that delight the eye, the viewer will also value what she finds beautiful.