Archive – 2011

November 2011

First Thursday ~ November 3
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Music by John Crocker

Featured Artists
Scott McRae and Debby Neely (paintings) | Marisa Mercure  (painted tile)
Don Quackenbush (stained glass) | Jane Gerdon (felting & purses)

Holiday Opening
Saturday, November 12, 10 am – 5:30 pm

About Marisa Mercure

“The paintings on tile come about quite unintentionally, giving me the opportunity to plot a picture playing mind games and optical illusions bringing the obvious to the viewer.

When arranging the elements within the tiles most of the time the design principle follows. I don’t worry too much if the overall composition has unity and harmony where the shapes and colors work together.

The goal is to have very few abstract qualities where recognition is present making the painting understandable. If  the viewer stands a few moments observing the painting and getting lost in an imaginary journey, then I have accomplished my purpose.” ~ Marisa Mercure.

Learn more about Marisa and her tile work at:

• Marisa Mercure
• Paintings on Tile at Lord & McCord Artworks
• For the Love of Tile
• July Spotlight: Marisa Mercure

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About Don Quackenbush

Don has always been visually oriented; he loves to sketch and doodle and finds a pencil and pad of paper to be very relaxing and almost therapeutic.

Now retired, he is able to devote much of his time to exploring the passion for design and creativity that led him into architecture. His compositions are typically abstract and stem from the pencil explorations which he terms ”generated-doodles”. These generated doodles; at times simple, at times complex, and which serve as the springboard for his stained glass patterns as well as his explorations into digital artwork.

“The ability to stir the imagination is intriguing, exciting and fascinating in both stained glass and digital art compositions.” ~ Don Quackenbush

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About Scott McRae

Scott has been a member of the gallery for many years. He helps schedule the featured artists shows, and is active in the local community. You can learn more about Scott and his work at

• Scott McRae
• Artist Spotlight: Scott McRae

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October 2011 – Mask Show

First Thursday ~ October 6
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Music by Dian Norman

Mask Show Best of Show award and prize (gift certificate for The Broadway Gallery)  announced at the First Thursday reception on October 6, 5:30-7:30

Featured Artists
Susy Halverson (paintings) | Lee Boone (sculpture) | Donna Patching (paintings) | Dan Sheridan (pottery)

About Donna Patching

“In 1972 I signed up to take a tole painting class from Delany Harmon, from then on I have never stopped exploring and working with colors. My interest quickly moved to painting on canvas and watercolor paper.

I like the palette knife and the wonders it works, although brushes are my stand by. Watercolor medium is a challenge albeit a most enjoyable one. As an artist I’m always thinking about mixing colors for a new painting, which I have already pictured in my mind. In most cases many changes are made before the finished piece. I am always searching for new ideas with my camera in hand.”

~ Donna Patching

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About Lee Boone

“Being retired with nothing particular to do would be very boring! I haven’t had the good fortune of having classes in carving/sculpture. My instruction has come from sculptors on the Internet. Reading what they have done and asking questions of those willing to share, I may never hit a Professional level, but this way I can relax and immerse myself in something I truly enjoy.

I’ve always liked a challenge and now I have found one not only do I enjoy, but others may appreciate. I started carving in July 2004 feeling that I had no artistic talent! I can not draw except with a T-square and triangle so all I can do is start carving and hope I find an animal inside the piece of stone in my hand. Most of the time that little animal is really trying to get out.

Seriously, I am extremely grateful for the talent given me. I hope you enjoy my carvings as much as I do in making them.”

~ Lee Boone

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About Susy Halverson

As a 12 year-old I was visiting my aunt in Olympia, Washington and made the acquaintance of Charles Mulvey. After our visit during which he saw some of my artwork he encouraged my aunt to seek a painting teacher for me, which she did. I began oil painting in Frances Bond’s studio in Spokane, Washington that same year. I continued with her for three years until I moved to Kelso. I have taken part in many workshops and college courses and continue to think of myself as a student.

I’ve been a member of The Broadway Gallery for 22 years and have been teaching oil painting for the past 20 years. I’ve always found that my best teachers have been my students. They always test my skills with new challenges. My students paint the subjects of their choice. During a class, I may be problem-solving on as many as 12 different paintings at one time.

I prefer to paint scenes of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. These are the places where I like to vacation and travel as much as possible. I’m never as content as when I am painting in the mountains while my husband and I are traveling. If I’m not painting while traveling, I’m taking photos to use as study material for future paintings, both for myself and my students. I prefer to paint actual places so people can identify with my paintings and remember the good times they had at that place or see how beautiful a place is and want to go there. It really gives me a good feeling when I hear someone identify a place in one of my paintings and reminisce about a good time they experienced.

I use water miscible oil paints for classes and my own paintings. These are nontoxic paints and have a very low odor, which makes them ideal for classroom use. They also age as well as regular oil paint when sealed correctly. I use a combination of bristle brushes, sable detail brushes, palette knives and even get my bare hands involved.

~ Susy Halverson

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September 2011

First Thursday ~ September 1, 5:30 –  7:30 pm

Featured Artists
Judy Vandermaten (photography) | Bob Farr (photography) | Mary Huels (pottery) | Ruth Doumit

About Mary Huels (pottery)

I like trees. I even studied forestry and worked as a professional forester for many years. Now my main employment is as a casual hire wildland firefighter, both on the fireline as a supervisor and in camp as an Information Officer. This can keep me on the road (as far as Florida) from spring to fall.

I’ve  taken evening pottery classes at Lower Columbia College from Richard Roth and Trudy Woods for several years. Working with clay is fun and challenging.

With the seasonal work of firefighting, I had time to set up a small pottery studio in my home. Dancing Tree Pottery was officially started in 2007.

When the fires are quiet and the weather is too bad for me to “play” in the yard, I head for my studio and dig into the clay. I mostly do high-fired functional work in porcelain using food-safe glazes. Microwavable, dishwasher-safe, and even able to go in the oven, I expect my pots to be used. That’s not to say I don’t want my pots to look pretty.

Trees are my specialty (and about the only thing I can draw well). Each tree is individually drawn, and sometimes they decide to grow in ways I didn’t expect. My pots are never identical in size and shape, but they look related, like the trees.

I also have fun playing with the colorful glazes, especially the tricky copper red. If it isn’t reduction fired correctly, it comes out clear to pale green!  I like to layer and mix the glazes to see what happens.  Now I’m experimenting with landscapes including trees.Sometimes I switch to horsehair raku, an ornamental style of pottery. These pots are burnished, not glazed, and are not water-tight or food-safe. They’re too pretty not to make some. I’m also playing with aluminum foil saggar firings, another strictly ornamental method.With all of the possibilities that clay offers, I can continue to explore and experiment for many years to come.

~ Mary Huels, Dancing Tree Pottery

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July 2011

First Thursday, July 7, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Music by Dian Norman

Featured Artists
Alice Beckstrom (stained glass) | Marisa Mercure (paintings) | Lower Columbia Woodcarvers (woodcarvings) | Miniatures Show

Vote for your favorite Miniature!
We have 66 entries in our miniatures show, consisting of a variety of paintings in oil, watercolor, acrylic and pen and ink. There are also great 3-D artworks in sculpture, gourds, pottery, felting, quilting, book art and jewelry. Thank you to everyone who responded!

Please vote for your favorite in July. Just drop your vote into the ballot box. Winners will be announced at August First Thursday.

Marisa Mercure

Marisa was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and received art training at the official school for fine arts there. She graduating as an elementary school art teacher, but unstable government conditions and student strikes put her to work at a store for professional artists, engineers and architects. She was never able to complete her higher education as an artist, but she tried to work sporadically in oils, pastel, and pencil.

Marriage and family put a hold on her work even more. In 2003 she decided to take ceramic classes at LCC, and later took watercolor classes at the Broadway Gallery with Linda McCord.

After winning the People’s Choice and Member’s Choice awards she became seriously involved in painting and taking workshops in Longview and Hood River.

She shows her paintings at The Back Stage Café in Kelso, the Health Department, Golf Club and occasionally in Longview.

Marisa loves to hike with a group that allows her the opportunity to paint the outstanding beauty of our area.

She like spontaneousness and feels her best work is done with a free hand and going with the painting. The minute she starts to calculate the dos and donts she become tense and the painting invariably fails. But she still has a plan in her mind about composition, balance, color and even how to frame that particular piece of work. She also does research to be sure she’s on the right track.

Enjoy Marisa’s paintings!

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June 2011

First Thursday, June 2, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Featured Artists
Zimbabwe Artists Project | Student Artwork

About the Zimbabwe Artists Project

The Broadway Gallery is proud to bring the Zimbabwe Artists Project to Longview in June, for a showing of folk art created by the women artists of Weya in rural eastern Zimbabwe.

Weya art is beautiful and affordable folk art, telling the stories of the artists’ lives in paint and fabric, done by rural women (and a few men) from Weya in eastern Zimbabwe.

Learn more about the Zimbabwe Artists Project.

Zimbabwe Artists Project (ZAP) is a non-profit organization, based in Portland, working exclusively with artists, mostly women, from Weya, a rural area in eastern Zimbabwe. Founded at the request of women artists, ZAP’s goal is to help the artists become more economically self-sufficient. Through the sale of their art, education, trainings, health care assistance and special projects, ZAP supports their artistry and accomplishments.

Come and see for yourself how ZAP connects people, across boundaries of culture and privilege, through art.

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May 2011

Cinco de Mayo First Thursday ~ May 5, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Music by Dian Norman and Mike Therault

Featured Artists
Becky Knold (paintings and dolls) | Marie Wise (paintings) | Della Moore (tables)

About Becky Knold ~ paintings and dolls

Recently I have been recognized primarily as an acrylic painter in the abstract expressionist style. In addition, I have been encouraged by those who admire my sculptures. I continue to create these human-like forms, which I sometimes call “spirit dolls,” from twigs and other ephemera. I’ll be showing examples of my new artwork, including both paintings and sculptural forms.

My paintings are not “realistic”. Although I draw upon references to nature, landscape, and close observation of detail, it is not my intention to portray the surface reality of things, but rather to capture the hidden “spirit” beneath the observable. Through this creative process I find myself drawn into a wonderment and amazement about the depths and mysteries and beauties of life. I hope my artwork invites you to enter into your own imaginative realms.

~ Becky Knold

About Marie Wise ~ paintings

“I enjoy filling my paintings with powerful and often feminine subjects. My florals, landscapes and nautical paintings are lush and deeply colored.

Design and pattern are very important to my compositions. Although my style is eclectic and varies from painting to painting, I try to capture one reflective moment, punctuated with symbolic elements that portray powerful messages, where viewers can find a connecting emotional bond.

~ Marie Wise

You can see more of my artwork and read my art blog at http://www.mariewise.com/.

About Della Moore ~ tables

I sit in my studio and stare at the tiles I have made and the raw metal leaning on the wall. Before I know it, I have put together a table or a piece of yard art. Being in my shop, making tile and welding is wonderful, and it helps to keep me quiet inside.

~ Della Moore

 

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April 2011

First Thursday ~ April 7, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Music by Ian Thompson and Shawn Harris

Featured Artists
Mitzi Christensen (paintings) | Gayle Kiser (functional pottery) | Sandy Brown (tea bowls) | Sharon Kelly (paintings)

About Mitzi Christensen

I’ve spent most of my life on the coast of California and on the Island of Hawaii, loving the sea and spending endless hours on boats, before retiring to Washington in 2001. My love of the water is usually reflected in my art. I had some art classes in college, but didn’t really get into it until retirement when time permitted. Since then I have taken classes and workshops from area artists, and found a new passion in art.

Pen and ink and acrylics are my favorite media. Ilike to work fast and work out my painting on the canvas as I go. Acrylics allow for that; it gives you boldness.I love the strong, bright color. I like beauty and peace in art and when I can create a picture that touches someone’s heart and brings them joy, it makes me very happy.

–Mitzi Christensen

About Gayle Kiser

For the past few years, my artistic expression has been through watercolor and pastel. I have returned to my roots: functional pottery. Nothing is as satisfying as the feeling of being centered on the pottery wheel. When things are working right, the only world that exists is between my fingers. I believe pottery should not only be beautiful, but useful. I hope you enjoy my work.

~ Gayle Kiser

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March 2011

Featured Artists
Marquita Green (woodturning) | Joe Green (letterpress poetry broadsides)
Mike Rees (photography) | Vicki Brigden (jewelry)

About Broadsides, by Joe Green from The Peasandcues Press

My introduction to letterpress printing—setting metal type by hand, one letter at a time, and using the composed form to print a page—came in a graphic arts class at California State University, Long Beach, in 1968; however, I didn’t acquire my first press until 1999. Then I began printing my own poems. Eventually I felt confident enough to print broadsides for other poets.

My wife, Marquita Green, often contributes woodcuts or linocuts to accompany the poems that I print, and with each new piece, our collaboration in The Peasandcues Press continues to develop. Generally, I design the page and set the type, and she responds with the graphic element. Then I print the pages—with a new set-up for each color—on a 1956 Vandercook 4 proof press.

Why broadsides? In a Paris Review interview in 1996, the noted critic and Harvard University professor Helen Vendler said, “I love poems by themselves on a piece of paper. I think all poems should appear by themselves; you should see them one at a time, with only one on a page. When a broadside is printed up, and you have only one poem, it’s thrilling.” That’s why.

–Joe Green

About Mike Rees, Photography

Mike Rees has been taking photographs since shortly after World War II, when he was in school in London (England). He has worked mainly with Black and White film; in 35 mm to 4 X 5 formats. Recently he has decommissioned his chemical darkroom and converted it to a lightroom where he digitally scans his black & white negatives for printing with a digital printer.

He has received training from Paul Caponigro and Johsel Namkung, among others, and has exhibited in England and the Pacific Northwest. Mike and his family have a home on the Columbia River at Skamokawa, Washington and he can be reached at mgrees@comcast.net.

This group of photographs includes a variety of images including some color prints from a new set called “Larger than Life”. The photographs shown here were printed using an Epson R2400 printer using K3 inks that are projected to last up to 200 years. All the photographs are archival mounted, and are for sale at $120 each (including frame).

–Mike Rees

New Jewelry by Vicki Brigden