Join us at First Thursday, July 5th to meet our guest artists- Mitzi Christensen, John and Vicki Brigden.
During the July 5th, First Thursday from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm, enjoy the music by Dian McCracken and John Seth, light snacks, and help us celebrate these artists’ fine work.
Mitzi Christensen-Painting
Mitzi Christensen
I grew up in Northern California and lived for many years along the California coast and on the Big Island of Hawaii before retiring to Cathlamet. In college I took some art classes and loved them, but majored in business for practical purposes. I didn’t get back into art until retirement. Since then, I’ve taken many classes and workshops from local artists and galleries, and accumulated a library of instruction books.
My love of the sea and endless hours spent on boats is reflected in my paintings. Also, I remain in love with the awesome beauty of the Northwest and Columbia River area. My style, I suppose, would be realism with overstated color and values. I enjoy drawing and sketching with pen and ink. For painting I love acrylics. I enjoy the strong color for drama and fast drying aspect as I am impatient and work fast. Although I have a picture in my mind when I start, I prefer to work out the details on the canvas as I go, making changes as needed and letting it evolve. The ability to experiment until you’re happy with the results gives a freedom and boldness not available in other media. I believe that art can be therapeutic in bringing peace and beauty into the life of a person, and if I can create a painting that brings happiness to someone, my goal is met!
My work can be seen at the Tsuga Art Gallery in Cathlamet, WA, where I am a member, and on line at tsugagallery.org and columbianartists.org.
Walk on the Beach
John and Vicki Bridgen – Pottery
John Brigden working with clay
John and I started making pottery at Lower Columbia College when it was taught by Bernadette Crider in 1985. We took all the art classes the college offered, but something about the Ceramics class got John hooked. I had no interest in taking the class, but it was the only way to see John because he was always in the studio.
John loved to throw, but hated to glaze the pots and I wasn’t very good at throwing, but I loved to carve and glaze the pots so we decided to collaborate. We made Raku pots and functional pots. I carved and added beads and wire to some of the pots.
We joined the Broadway Gallery in 1991 and had our work in other galleries like Essence of Fire, Whitebird Gallery, Yoshida Gallery, RiverSea Gallery and shows like Art in the Pearl, OPA Showcase, Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts and more. But then life got busy with 2 little kids and aging parents, so we decided to take a break.
Over the years we talked about doing pottery again but life kept getting in the way. Before we knew it, 18 years had gone by. I signed us up to be Feature Artists because I thought that the deadline would force us to get back into it. John started throwing again a few months ago and I started carving again last week. We fired some pots with Stan Gibson in his Wood-Fired kiln and we are hoping to get some pots high-fired and Raku-fired before the show.
Earth-tone Carved Vessel
