wenaha gallery art gifts dayton

The Journey Continues: Wenaha Gallery Closes September 30, 2022

wenaha gallery art gifts dayton

Through the years, Wenaha Gallery has sought out skilled and talented Pacific Northwest artists for their paintings, sculpture, pottery, woodwork, jewelry, and more

I like to think of life as a journey.

Every day we get up, and regardless of how far we walk, by evening we are in a different place than where we started in the morning. May be better, may be worse, probably in between, but different. Even if we just sit by the road, leaning against our backpack, we don’t stay static.

And so we come to Wenaha Gallery, and its journey in the business community, and to you and me, dear readers, and our eight-year long relationship together of my writing about Pacific Northwest regional artists at the gallery.

prints art wall bin hallway

Wenaha has made a point of carrying both original artwork and prints, and each month its walls look different, as new art arrives to replace that which sells

This September 30, after nearly 30 years in business, Wenaha Gallery of Dayton, WA, closes its doors. It’s not for lack of business, which is brisk. In a world where so much is artificial, covered with a shallow veneer of shiny materialism and brittle ambition, the human soul seeks meaning, value, goodness, joy, freedom, worthiness, and truth, and art is uniquely poised to provide that.

And art, though it is not Science, has a way asking questions, poking at the conventional, distrusting authority, exploring options, looking for answers beyond what we’re instructed to believe. Sort of like what we’re told science does.

New Stage of the Journey

No, Wenaha is closing because our owner, Pat Harri, is ready to retire, to move onto a different stage of her journey, to spend more time with family and friends. She has chosen this time to do so, and we honor her for it, as well as wish her the best of the best on her walk. Pat, our framer Savonnah, gallery associate CJ, and I are all picking up our backpacks and continuing on our journey. As are you as well, dear readers.

And I hope that you, on your life’s journey, will continue to make art a part of it, to incorporate paintings, drawings, pottery, wooden boxes, jewelry, sculpture — made by the hands of real people — into your homes and lives. In the nearly nine years I have been writing for Wenaha, we’ve touched upon the stories of more than 250 skillful, energetic, creative artists, most of them from Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, and Idaho. In other words, they live close to us, and it’s not impossible for us to contact them directly, see their studios, ask them questions about their work, and find something they have created that touches our heart.

pacific northwest wall art gallery wenaha

One entire wall of the gallery has always been devoted to the work of regional, Pacific Northwest artists (and it’s never been big enough!)

Make that part of your journey, friends — this quest for something that touches your heart. Don’t worry — as we’ve been directed to do for so many years — about buying the “right” kind of art that the “experts” pronounce as correct and appropriate. In our lifetimes, we’ve heard enough from more than enough “experts” to start questioning a few motives, and the art world is no exception. Corporate interests make money off the choices you make, and it’s to their benefit to push your choices toward their interests.

On Your Journey, Ask Questions

If you, like many people, say, “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like when I see it,” then don’t let any expert nudge you away from what you like toward what they say you ought to like. It’s your heart, your home, your personality, your life. If you feel insecure about your lack of knowledge, then do something about it. Generally, the best way to increase our knowledge of any subject is to start asking questions, and there’s nothing ludicrous at all about the question,

“So . . . what makes this artwork good?” If someone rolls their eyes at you or makes you feel stupid for asking, then move on, and find someone else who will take time to answer your questions. Many independent artists, if they don’t feel like you’re pumping them for secrets on their techniques, enjoy talking about why they do what they do, and a competent artist can converse with you about the rudiments of the skills he or she employs to create their art.

Trust Yourself

Because art, while it is subjective, does fall into the categories of “good” and “bad,” with the former exhibiting the time and effort the artist has invested to understand and successfully use his or her medium of choice. The latter comes from the hands of an amateur (who may be good someday), or a schemer, or a charlatan. It’s not enough to “feel like” you can do art, any more than you can “feel like” being a dentist.

I could go on (and on, and on) but I’ll leave it with this: trust yourself. You’re not stupid. Ask questions, read, research, learn, recognize how much you still don’t know, and keep going. Don’t let any one person or philosophy be your guru. Dig in your heels and resist when you’re instructed to accept, without question, what “other people” say.

And buy what you like.

Wenaha GalleryWenaha Gallery remains open until September 30, 2022, both at 219 E. Main Street, Dayton, WA and online at wenaha.com. We are marking our last day with Cake All Day, our traditional celebration of our anniversary. Drop in anytime from 9 to 6, enjoy a slice of cake, and chat with us. We look forward to seeing you before then, and on that day!

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

spring snow winter memories tulips flowers valerie stephenson photography

Memories of Life: Photography by Valerie Stephenson

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Memories of summer transition into fall in Before the Harvest, a photographic capture of life by Valerie Stephenson

We live life day by day, as opposed to a year at a time. Because of this, we assume that the everyday things we did yesterday we’ll do today, and then tomorrow. We won’t forget.

But that’s not the way it is. A year later, two years later, ten, we’re no longer doing the everyday things that we thought would never end. Too often, the only remembrance we have of them is our memory.

Photographer Valerie Stephenson wants to provide something more tangible than memories. Driven by the idea of catching life in its moments, the Burbank artist, who lives just above Sacajawea State Park over the Snake River, works with individual clients to capture vignettes of their day, in effect creating a visual journal of a slice of their lives.

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The last memories of winter dance across the tulips of spring in Spring Snow, photography by Valerie Stephenson.

“These types of photos are cherished many years down the road, especially the everyday memories,” Stephenson says. “Because these moments are so everyday, so expected, we don’t realize that we don’t have a photo of them — like reading a book with our child, or the decorations in grandma’s house, a childhood spot by the lake, or the neighbor lady we grew up next to and talked with.

“Often we don’t have those memories captured before the seasons permanently change. I aim to provide a customizable photography experience, one built around a person’s unique story and capturing memories that will be important many years down the road.

“And then when we see these photos, they bring an array of feelings — like thankfulness, joy, wonder — at being able to relive those moments.”

Moments and Memories to Hang Onto

As an example, she described a photo shoot she did with a nephew and his uncle on the family ranch. Before this session, there were no photos of the uncle doing what he had done his whole life on the ranch, and there were no photos of the nephew who spent his childhood summers there working with his uncle. Though she couldn’t go back to the nephew’s childhood, she could capture the essence, the moment, the memories of what the two did every day.

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The luminous glow of a peacock’s feather adds a sense of mystique to beauty in Feather Glow by Valerie Stephenson

“The photographs enable us to relive, rewrite, and preserve some of the things we hold dearest in life,” Stephenson says.

When she isn’t doing commissioned photo shoots of people’s lives and memories, Stephenson is outside with her camera, capturing Nature, and her day to day moments. An outdoor enthusiast, Stephenson is a lifelong forager of wild edibles and medicinals, as well as a participant in numerous sports — backpacking, canoeing, road biking, skiing, snowboarding. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Outdoor Recreation, she has a long and varied career of leading and teaching others in these areas.

“I have always found my peace outside, and I enjoy doing most things outdoors,” she says.

“I enjoy most things that go back to a simpler, hands on, more family oriented way of life. That is what I am aiming to capture in my photography — relationships, the emotion of the moment, the wrinkles, the honesty.”

Words to Accompany Photography

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The Power of the Sea lies not only in the majesty of the ocean, but in its tug upon the memories of those who once visited or lived there.

One of her dreams is to write devotionals that are enhanced with her photography. In them, she wants to include science along with scripture because God, she believes, is the author of both.

“I have been doing lay counseling since I was very young. It involves listening to others, being there as they go through what they’re going through, sharing what I have learned in life. The devotionals are a way of combining visuals with words to create a statement of hope and encouragement.”

Good, bad, funny, sad, light, dark, colorful, grayscale — life is all of these, Stephenson believes, and like a path in the forest, it unfolds before us as we walk, each day, on our journey. There’s so much to it that it’s hard to maintain perspective, keep it fresh in our mind before another experience, another place, another element comes to the forefront. Photography enables us to stop each moment and make a tangible, visible image we can hold onto, hang on our wall, reflect upon before we take the next step.

“Printed photos in my hands bring me back to the moment, the memories, and the feeling,” Stephenson says.

“That’s where I want my photos to take people — to a place they want to be.”

Wenaha GalleryValerie Stephenson is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from August 23 through September 19, 2022.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

beginnings flowers impressionist romantic karen powers

Flowers, Birds, and Beauty — The Photography of Karen Powers

beginnings flowers impressionist romantic karen powers

Beginnings, by Powers, flowers photography, represents God making a way through the darkness and helping her find her way to the light and having hope again.

Parents make a huge impact on their children’s lives. That’s one of those things we say and deep-down believe. But there are those days — we’ve all had them —  when we think, “I’m talking to the air here. I don’t think what I say or do is making any appreciable difference.”

If you’re having one of those days, think about Karen Powers, a nature photographer from Richland, WA. She is walking proof that mom’s words matter:

“When I was younger, my mom gave me an Instamatic camera as a gift,” Powers remembers.

“At summer camp I took a picture of a waterfall. Later, after the film was developed, there was a similar photo in our local newspaper.

“I still remember my mom saying that my picture was a lot better than this one in the newspaper. Well, I don’t know if she was biased or not. But I believed what she said, and that gave me confidence.”

burgundy hollyhock flowers photography romantic karen powers

Hand rendered brush strokes applied to original photograph add a sense of impressionism and romance. Burgundy Hollyhock, photography by Karen Powers.

Powers went through high school with that Instamatic. Years later, she “wore out” her first digital (dslr) camera, a gift from her husband. She launched a business doing senior portraits, wedding photography, and images for stock photography before concentrating her energy on fine art photography, with an emphasis on flowers and birds. Unsatisfied with the camera alone, she began experimenting with “developing” her images into artistic representations by incorporating digital enhancement using graphic and illustrative software.

Endless Possibilities

“By using brushes and editing techniques in the software, I fell in love with the process and endless possibilities,” Powers says.

“There is a huge learning curve, but the possibilities are absolutely limitless. After processing, each piece is a truly and completely unique piece of art.”

Powers’ studio is both outside and inside, and it all starts outside, either in her garden, where she is constantly growing new varieties of flowers to photograph, or in the mountains, through which she bikes to find wildflowers, or public and private gardens in the region. In the winter and early spring, she photographs birds. A bird feeding station outside her kitchen window attracts smaller birds, while river walks open up the world of waterfowl and birds of prey.

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Deep purple pansy blended with rich colorful tones creates a painterly effect. Drama Queen, photography by Karen Powers.

“I’m frequently thinking about how light is falling, and what a good composition would be for a certain plant.

“Typically, I look out the window, see what’s blooming, grab my camera, and go. I follow the bloom schedule of the flowers around my garden. Iris, tulips and rhododendrons in early spring; roses, calendula, daisies, dahlia, and on and on in the summer.

“I think it’s safe to say that if it’s blooming, I would love to capture it.”

Flowers in the Studio, Too

And then it’s time to move to her indoor studio, a large room in her home with two floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on an atrium filled with flowerpots and plants. An oak corner desk houses computer and digital tablet. Another desk is space for matting prints, practicing calligraphy, and dabbling with watercolors, her latest foray for enhancing photos. Her artwork covers the walls. A bookshelf groans with volume after volume on flowers, flower arranging, wildflowers, flower identification, gardening, birds, art history, and photography.

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Joyous and colorful, garden gladiolas are a Voice of Gladness, photography by Karen Powers.

“Finally, there are comfortable chairs that provide a space to just sit and ponder.”

An emerging element to Powers’ work is reprography, the process of reproducing, reprinting, or copying graphic material by mechanical, photographic, or electronic means. Working part time as the reprographics specialist at a local church, Powers has access to five separate copier machines, a Riso (mimeograph printer) machine, and an Epson large format printer.

“This has been a tremendous opportunity to apply my knowledge of digital art and to learn the geeky side and the technicalities related to the printing side of creating artwork.”

Honoring the Creator

All the observation, learning curves, research, floral and bird identification, and, ultimately, the capture of images on film and subsequent enhancement, have a central goal: that of creating a work that honors the work of the original Creator. Powers believes that God has created much beauty for us to behold as a reflection of who He is, and as an artist, she celebrates that beauty.

“He is so gracious and loving that He gives us beautiful sunsets, majestic mountains, and the most intricate, delicate flowers to top it all off.

“I try to capture some small bit of that stunning beauty to bring honor to God, the original creator.

“My desire is to share the beauty I see all around as well as a sense of peacefulness.

“I want to show viewers a place where they can step out of the traffic and rest.”

Wenaha GalleryKaren Powers is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from February 15 through March 14, 2022.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

moccasin lake evening landscape photography bill rodgers

Landscape Magic — the Photography of Bill Rodgers

moccasin lake evening landscape photography bill rodgers

For Bill Rodgers, photography is all about capturing the mood, the moment, the emotion of the landscape. Moccasin Lake Eve, fine art photography by Bill Rodgers.

Because we are all incredibly unique human beings, we gravitate toward interests that fit our distinctive abilities. It is for this reason that not everyone is a mathematician, or a writer, or a mechanic.

And it is the reason that Bill Rodgers, of Waitsburg, is a photographer as opposed to a painter.

“For as long as I can remember, I have always loved landscapes,” Rodgers says.

wallouse palouse landscape spring winter snow bill rodgers photography

On a cloudy day, the transition of winter into spring adds an element of delightful drama to the landscape. Snow Drifts, fine art photography by Bill Rodgers.

“I originally wanted to be a landscape painter until I realized that I would probably starve for a very long time.

“My eyes and hands have never communicated well, and after a few college painting classes I realized that I was not going to be able to paint the kind of landscape I wanted to paint.”

But Rodgers is an imaginative, creative man, and he was not satisfied with not being able to do what he set his mind upon doing. When, 51 years ago, he received his first “real” camera, a 35mm Mamiya DTL 1000, Rodgers began a lifetime journey of fulfilling his goal with landscapes.

Being in, Moving through, the Landscape

“I like being in landscapes, moving through them, looking at them,” he says. His images, he adds, are a playground for the eyes and mind of the viewer.

old grain elevator country landscape rural farm bill rodgers photography

An old grain elevator stands sentinel in a timeless rural landscape. Old Grain Elevator, fine art photography by Bill Rodgers.

Many of his fine art photography pieces focus on the landscapes within a 30-mile radius of his Waitsburg studio, a region he has dubbed “The Wallouse,” to distinguish it from the rolling hills of the nearby Palouse. And while he loves the Palouse (he grew up in Spokane), he finds the landscapes of the Wallouse to be subtly distinctive. Traveling along remote, gravel roads, he teases out emotional impact through the composition of his images, instead of heavily relying upon subject matter.

His goal as an artist, he says, is to take beautiful photographs. This differs from just taking pictures of things, or worse, depending upon familiar landmarks to carry the day.

“I know the ‘great places to photograph,’ and religiously avoid them because they have been photographed to death.”

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Just the right amount of mist creates the perfect feeling. Stonecipher Trees, fine art photography by Bill Rodgers.

Rodgers’ photos reside in the homes of collectors throughout the country, and a number have been used in brochures and periodicals published by the Blue Mountain Land Trust, a conservation group that focuses on the scenic, natural, and working lands of 11 Washington and Oregon counties. The Trust’s coffee table books of the Blue Mountain region include many of Rodgers’ works. He is presently compiling and editing Volume 5, which will feature landscapes in the Trust’s eight-county John Day service area.

The Waitsburg School of Landscape Photography

A retired geologist, Rodgers turned to full-time photography in 2012. Part of this second career includes teaching at his Waitsburg School of Landscape Photography, where he leads regular workshops.

“The focus of the WSLP workshops is not technical. It is more about learning to find beauty in the mundane. I also teach my students to look for compositions — not things — to photograph. For me, it is the composition that makes a strong image — not the subject.”

He is always looking for what he calls a Magnificent Image. Rodgers defines this as a two-dimensional image in which all the elements of composition and content work perfectly to create a sublime whole that compels the eye to return and linger again and again. If he makes any statement with his art, this is it:

“My statement is, ‘Isn’t this a just a gorgeous landscape? I was privileged to be there at that time.’

“Enjoy.”

 

Wenaha GalleryBill Rodgers is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from July 28 through August 21, 2020.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

mountain sunrise photography landscape wessels galbreath

Photography in Action — By Gary Wessels-Galbreath

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Rich colors in the clouds portend a magical day in the landscape photograph, Mountain Sunrise by Gary Wessels-Galbreath

A simple gift does more than tell the recipient that you care about them. Many times, that Christmas or birthday present sparks a response in the receiver that lasts far beyond the holiday.

This is what happened to Gary Wessels-Galbreath, who received a 110 Kodak Camera for Christmas when he was a teenager. The Olympia photographer and graduate of Dayton High School went on to complete his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, with an emphasis on photography, from Evergreen State College in Washington in 1985. He has been snapping, and shooting, and experimenting with both film and digital photography, as well as printmaking, ever since.

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Light, shadow, texture, silhouette — all work together in Moss on Limb, photography by Gary Wessels-Galbreath

“I enjoy ‘bending’ the rules that I am presented with and taking things a step further,” Wessels-Galbreath says, explaining that he works out of both his home studio and at community and university photo labs to produce his work. One of his experimental forays is cyanotype printing, high contrast images on paper, canvas, and metal, through solar printing in his front yard.

“I focus on landscape images for the most part,” Wessels-Galbreath says. “I attempt to allow viewer to see things they walk by every day without noticing the intricate details of the natural world.

“My hope is that they slow down, stop for more than a moment, and really see the beauty of nature.”

Slowing Down and Seeing the World

Slowing down, Wessels-Galbreath feels, is integral to seeing and understanding the world around us. That world is varied and changing, colorful and unusual. One thing it necessarily isn’t, however, is perfect, a message he tries to get across in the many photography workshops that he leads in the Olympia area.

highway 12 photography landscape farm dayton washington wessels galbreath

A graduate of Dayton High School in Dayton, WA, Wessels-Galbreath photographs his childhood town.

“Last year I worked with a group of 12 high school students collaborating on my American Crow series,” Wessels-Galbreath recalls.

“Each student was given a high contrast crow image and invited to create whatever inspired them.

“Of course I heard, ‘But I’m not an artist — what if I ruin it?’ I reminded them that we all have the ability and magic to create, and that in itself is art.

“All the images created in that workshop were beautiful. There are many more workshops that I have presented, but I really enjoyed that one.”

In addition to conducting workshops, Wessels-Galbreath also regularly participates in collaborative artistic gathering with photographers throughout the world. Through both these collaborations as well as sales, his photography has found collectors in Hawaii, New Mexico, California, Washington, New Zealand, and Canada. In 2018, his work was accepted into the International Juried Exhibition, Natural Studies of Wonder, at the Spectol Art Space in Bridgewater, VA.

Teaching Life, and Photography, by Example

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Fascinated by crows, Wessels-Galbreath experiments with their shape and from in his photography.

That same year, Wessels-Galbreath received the “Teaching by Example” award from the Longhouse Educational and Cultural Center at the Evergreen State College. The award honors artists who have made significant contributions to their community.

With a day job as bulk foods buyer at the Olympia Food Co-op, Wessels-Galbreath volunteers three days each week at Evergreen, working with photography students. He wants to inspire them with the same sense of wonder he received upon opening that 110 Kodak Camera. That great big world out there, he believes, is worth exploring, seeing, celebrating, and capturing as artwork.

In that way, he believes, we share the wonder with those around us.

“I start by taking a long walk, and begin listening with my eyes.”

Wenaha GalleryGary Wessels-Galbreath is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from July 14 through August 7, 2020.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

shell butterfly beach coast sand doug paulson details photograph

Details Matter — The Photography of Doug Paulson

shell butterfly beach coast sand doug paulson details photograph

Most people walking by see broken shells, but Doug Paulson sees a butterfly. Sun Kissed Wings, photography by Doug Paulson.

People who go on hikes with Doug Paulson don’t just move their feet. After few minutes with the nature photographer, they learn that details matter. And to see detail, you have to look not just around, but up and down, with a willingness for and expectation of encountering the unusual.

“My focus of detail runs deep,” the Salem, OR, artist says. “I even work and play with a focus on detail.”

On hikes, he frequently points out things that are “old hat” to him, but never noticed before by his companions.

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Lost in Thought, an owl perches by a rippling river. Photography by Doug Paulson.

“My hikes are a learning experience to fellow hikers whether they like it or not.

“And I do have an overwhelming sense of humor (whether you like it or not). I call it the family curse. My dad’s side is full of undiscovered comedians.”

God’s Handiwork

Paulson has been playing around with a camera since he was twelve, and after years of working with images on film, he is especially appreciative of digital technology. Carrying his camera with him wherever he goes, he likes the freedom of taking numerous shots from varying angles, without having to wait days to see if they turn out.

“I work in God’s world, and capture bits and pieces of his handiwork,” Paulson says.

“My material is everywhere — I can find a picture that is unique just about anywhere. Thank God for digital and no cost to take pictures other than a new SanDisk card.”

Paulson is rarely still, his mind and eye as active as his feet. Prior to retirement five years ago, he worked 33 years in a factory making Andersen windows and doors. He also coached wrestling — in both volunteer and paid positions — and extols the benefits of the sport for the determination and perseverance it demands, as well as . . . attention to detail.

“Wrestling is definitely in my blood — I am a former wrestler in Osceola, Wisconsin, wrestled varsity as a freshman on, and was a co-captain of the school’s best record team my senior year — still the record today.

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White water cascades over the rocks and through the forest in River Rush, photography by Doug Paulson

“I recognize the life benefits wrestling gives to the participants. I’ve been there hands on with plenty of kids who have had great success — in wrestling, and in life.”

Wrestling with the Details

This year, in “retirement,” Paulson is head wrestling coach at Judson Middle School in Salem. It keeps him in top form both physically and mentally, so that when he heads out to the woods with the camera, he’s good to trek for hours, or, when need be, stand patiently for what seems like hours until the light is right, the atmospheric conditions perfect, and the necessary moveable details to the picture naturally fallen into place. Rather than let photo manipulation finish the picture, Paulson prefers to cooperate with nature.

“I will stand at a wonderful coastal sunset and wait for a seagull to fly through, to add the bird to the picture.”

Paulson says he learned early on that it’s the details in the photo that establish the mood, rather than his trying to fit a large panorama into a set space. In focusing on the details, he also pays attention to the background, because it sets the stage.

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It’s a matter of being at the right place, at the right time. Birds on the Rocks, photography by Doug Paulson

“Background  adds or highlights the color in the subject, and it can wash out the subject, too.

“I do a lot of foreground inclusion, too, and also like to shoot through trees to get a silhouette. The ability to isolate or focus on details — this is what makes my pictures unique.”

Details, Not Defects

Some of those details, Paulson adds, other people would describe as “defects,” but he doesn’t consider them that way. With a little time and patience, a changing of perspective, one sees the same scene in a different manner.

“I will circle a subject until I get the best contrast of color and light, thus enhancing the subject.

“Shapes and features in wood, stumps, leaves — these all attract my attention. Sometimes I will let my shadow cast over the subject, as light will wash out the colors.”

It’s a matter of, well, wrestling with the subject matter, not so much to dominate it as to pin it down to its essential, and most interesting, elements. And it’s also a matter of stopping, looking, observing, not being in a hurry — of allowing the wonder of what is there to slowly reveal itself. You have to be willing to admit that you don’t know everything, and then willing to learn.

“I am a gotta know why guy.

“I see pictures everywhere, so I take them.”

Wenaha GalleryDoug Paulson is the featured  Art Event from Monday, February 10 through Saturday, March 7 at Wenaha Gallery.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

bateman island fall autumn columbia river richter

Clouds Fascinate — The Photography of Nancy Richter

bateman island fall autumn columbia river richter

Bateman Island Fall, a photographic landscape of water, trees and sky by Nancy Richter of Kennewick

Clouds fascinate her

She is a grandmother now. But Nancy Richter has never lost a child’s fascination for a sky full of clouds.

As a kid, she did what lots of kids — even in today’s techno-world of substitutionary reality — still do: she lay in the grass and watched the world above.

“I grew up in Montana — Big Sky Country,” the Kennewick photographer says.

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Fog and mist are simply clouds that decide to come a little closer to earth . . . Foggy Drive, photograph by Nancy Richter

“I never tired of the surprising shapes and colors of clouds. Their randomness, unpredictability, and beauty are fascinating to me.”

It is no wonder then that from the time Richter received her first camera — a Brownie Instamatic for Christmas when she was ten — she has focused on capturing the form, the mystique, the emotion, and the feeling of clouds. As technology advanced and Richter exchanged her Brownie for a Minolta SLR, then a digital camera, she kept chasing the timeless yet ever-changing vista of clouds. And though she photographs much more than the sky overhead — landscape, macro, flowers, rusty abstract surfaces, portraits, events — she retains a lifetime goal of finding the perfect combination of landscape and clouds.

Moody, Brooding Clouds

In 2011, she met photographer John Clement, of whom she had been a fan for years. The two arranged a photography day trip to the Blue Mountains in Southeast Washington. And from 3 a.m. to 11 p.m. they went to one wonderful spot after another.

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In Nailed It, a country landscape and brooding, moody clouds form one of Nancy Richter’s favorite photographic combinations.

After this most amazing day, one Richter affectionately dubs “John Clement Day,” she discovered that she had taken yet another step on her photographic journey.

“I find my own way to the loveliness that’s out there, following dusty farm roads, stopping along the banks of lakes and rivers, and making my way up to the top of hills covered with wildflowers,” Richter says.

She likes her photos to be unconventional, a bit off balanced and moody, she adds. Art is best, she considers, when its subject or material is unexpected, inviting the viewer to stop beyond a first glance, teasing him or her to discover new elements and depth.

“That’s what I want to convey: something a bit off the beaten path, something that holds the observer’s interest.”

Clouds Combined with Landscapes

Within a short radius of her Kennewick studio, unusual and intriguing landscapes abound. Less than 15 minutes from her home are spots in the Horse Heaven Hills that open out into vistas of Rattlesnake Mountain and other significant ridges of the Tri-Cities area.  There’s the Palouse (“That place is divine. Nowhere exactly like it on earth”). And there are the Blue Mountains, a combination of bare grass hills with forest in the ravines, farmland interwoven between.

The roads to these places can be a little dicey, though, but than again, that adds to the adventure of it all.

“One time I got stuck in the mud up to half my tire,” Richter remembers.

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A flower peeks from its foliage in Pink, photography by Nancy Richter of Kennewick

“A man and his 5-year-old daughter just happened to be out in the middle of nowhere with a jeep and pulled me out with a strap.

“When I first told them of my dilemma, the daughter’s comment was, ‘My dad can do anything!'”

Such is the mindset of a child, a mindset that Richter maintains with that persistent, lifelong, deep-rooted fascination with clouds. And to this day, in the process of looking up, she often finds that the ground beneath her feet is steadier, firmer, more secure.

“Sometimes when I am dealing with unpleasant emotion, the sky provides pleasant distraction,” Richter muses.

“It gets me outside and moving and enjoying. It helps ground me.

“Funny, that the sky would help me touch the earth.”

Clouds, Light, Quality, and Emotion

Richter shows and sells her work throughout the Tri-Cities area, and participates in the Thursday Art Walk in Kennewick. She has exhibited at the Richland library, You and I Framing in Kennewick, the Crossroads and Carnegie Art Center in Baker City, OR, and the Larson Gallery in Yakima. At the latter, she received the Women in Photography Award, as a well as a Purchase Award.

Richter doesn’t remember whatever happened to her old Brownie — she could have sold it at a yard sale; it may be in one of those memorabilia boxes we all cart around. But what it started will never be lost, as she discovers, and captures, a world of possibility, imagination, and enchantment. These elements transcend time and technology.

“When I take photos I feel an attraction to the scene. I’m feeling excited or having fun or am just delighted with the amazing light in that moment.

“I want people to enjoy what they see, to feel pleasure in the colors, to experience the light and the quality.”

Wenaha GalleryNancy Richter is the Featured Art Event from Monday, November 18, through Saturday, December 14 at Wenaha Gallery. She will be at the gallery for the Christmas Kickoff Art Show Friday, November 29, from 2 to 6 p.m. Richter will be joined by Colfax rope basket creator Nancy Waldron and jewelry artist Andrea Lyman.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, and by appointment.

 

 

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Camera Magic — The Photography of John Clement

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Sentinel Gap, capturing the Eastern Washington landscape on camera by John Clement, Kennewick photographer

Everyone has a camera these days.

Whether it’s at an office party or the family Thanksgiving dinner, many people have been buttonholed by an enthusiastic traveler’s  sharing a (seemingly endless) collection of photos. It doesn’t take long to realize that enthusiasm does not always equate with expertise, and while anyone can press a button, far fewer people know how to capture a moment, a memory, and an emotion.

“The challenge of being a photographer is capturing the images that I have created in my mind’s eye — capturing an emotion that connects someone with that image and draws them into it,” says Kennewick photographer John Clement, who has had a camera in his hand for more than 49 years now and counting.

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The Eiffel Tower, by John Clement, photographer and camera artist from Kennewick, WA

“Finding those type of images takes lots of planning, prayer, and knowing your landscape locations. It’s understanding how and when the weather, the light, and the subject all work together for that moment in time, never to be repeated. There is so much to this side of the story . . . ”

He Borrowed His First Camera

Clement’s story started in 1970 at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, where he double majored in geology and geography. Needing an elective class to fill a gap in his schedule, he chose photography — although to get through the class he had to borrow a camera because he didn’t own one.

“But I was hooked,” he said. He spent five years with a church pictorial directory company in St Louis, and another five with Battelle in Tri-Cities doing lab and photography assignments. On the side, he shot landscapes and marketed his work, and in 1980, left Battelle to venture out on his own.

“I’ve been really blessed in this business by faithful clients and opportunities to try new ventures in photography,” Clement explains. “I’ve been involved in book publishing, calendars, multimedia production, and scouting movie locations for clients in California.

“I have clients all around the world, and have prints in more than 80 countries.”

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Morning, capturing on camera that moment in the morning, by photographer John Clement of Kennewick, WA

Clement’s photos have garnered more than 65 regional, national, and international awards, including first place at the National Park Service’s National Natural Landmark Photo Competition. He has been published in Country Music and Northwest Travel Magazines, and one of his prints hangs in the permanent collection of the International Hall of Fame of Photography in Missouri. He installed 17 of his works as murals at the Century Link Field in Seattle, home of the Seahawks and the Sounders, and an additional 17 as 4×8 glass panels at the recently remodeled Pasco Airport. Last year he completed a major project at the Othello Medical Clinic where nearly 200 images — ranging in size from 24 inches to 35 feet — decorate the facilities.

Traveling with Family and Camera

For 20 years, Clement operated a gallery at the Columbia Center Mall in Kennewick, but closed it in 2005 so that he could devote more time to traveling with his wife, Sharon, and capturing landscapes on camera from different locations. The past several years, he has traveled regularly to the Midwest with his daughter, Colleen, for storm chasing. (“My interest is in the big skies and the landscape.”) Other travels have taken him to Russia, China, continental Europe and the British Isles, “with more to come, Lord willing.”

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Vineyards, by camera and photography artist John Clement of Kennewick, WA

“I have thousands of stories — some funny, some serious, and some scary,” Clement says. “When you do what I do, you can get into some interesting situations, places, and crazy scary weather.” One major memory is the time he lugged his 42 pounds of camera equipment onto a four-foot wide, mid-range ledge at Palouse Falls. Without warning, a baseball-sized rock hurtled from above, barely missing him.

“Quit throwing rocks! There are people below you!” Clement shouted to the voices overhead. The next voice he heard was that of an upset mother yelling, “I told you not to throw rocks, didn’t I?” There was a slap, a wail, and then silence. But at least there were no more rocks. Clement stayed on the ledge, unmolested from above, for four hours, waiting until the light and the sky were just the way he wanted.

Camera and the Artist’s Eye

“This world is a wonderful place of color, textures, lines, and patterns,” Clement says. “When some or all of these elements come together in the right light, they can stir the emotions to stop and think.”

It’s his job, he says, to capture that moment on camera, and translate it visually into an image that speaks to the heart as well as the eye.

“I believe God has given each one of us a gift to share with others,” Clement says.

“My gift is seeing his wonderful creation in a unique way that communicates His love for all of us — through what He has created for us to see.”

Wenaha GalleryJohn Clement is the Featured Art Event from Monday, April 8through Saturday, May 4at Wenaha Gallery. He will be at the gallery Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a special Spring Art Show, where he will be joined by Milton-Freewater steel sculptor Anne Behlau and Dayton jewelry and nostalgia journal artist Dawn Moriarty.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, and by appointment.

butterfly blooms photography fractal art tulips debbie lind

Fractal Fascination — Photographic Art by Debbie Lind

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Butterfly Blooms, Debbie Lind’s first, and prize winning, foray into photographic fractals art.

You don’t have to like broccoli to admire it.

Seriously.

Broccoli and its close friend, cauliflower, consist of the same small shape multiplied into a larger one, a phenomenon both scientists and artists call fractal or algorithmic art. The term, coined in the 1960s by Polish mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, describes using mathematical formulas to create digital artwork from the same repeating shape.

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Love in Layers, photographic fractal art by Wallowa, OR, artist Debbie Lind

“Fractals are a repeated shape that I didn’t give much thought to until I discovered them when reading a book about shapes to kindergartners visiting our public library where I’m the library director,” says photographer Debbie Lind of Wallowa, OR.

“I read to them about shapes like circles, triangles, squares and all the basic shapes we know, but when I read to them about fractals, a light went off and I thought right then, ‘How can I use fractal art in my photography?'”

Fractal Tulip Turns into Butterfly

Lind’s first experiment with fractal art involved her photographic image of a red tulip with rain drops on it. She began playing about with the shape, intending to create a conch-like snail shell from the repeating tulip blossoms, but “it wasn’t meant to be.

“What I created instead was a butterfly wing. From that I created a butterfly I named ‘Butterfly Blooms.’ I entered it in my first professional art show and won a blue ribbon.” (As an added bonus, a monetary prize accompanied the ribbon, a fact Lind says came as a complete, but welcome, surprise.)

Money or not, from that point on, Lind was hooked on fractal art, experimenting with more flowers and butterflies, then moving on to other shapes and subjects, such as a bright orange Koi fish, repeated smaller and smaller, in a series of bubbles. She prints her images on canvas and paper, as well as large format art cards that she sells in galleries, gift shops, and local businesses.

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Dragonfly Delight, photographic fractal art by Wallowa, OR artist Debbie Lind

Describing herself as a photo artisan, Lind has been playing with imagery, cameras, and technology since she was 15, when she received a 110 pocket camera as a gift. From there she moved onto an Olympus OM-1 35 mm, and once she entered the digital age, she found that the time spent behind the computer screen playing with an image was as fascinating as time behind the camera lens.

Fractal Art and Emotive Photography

“My goal is to create photography — fractal or not — that moves me first: it can be a child, flowers, landscapes, or a person leaning up against a truck,” Lind explains.

“My other goal is if my art can give someone a good feeling — to enhance their good day and help them on their bad day — then this is what I hope my art can do for them, even if it’s just one person.”

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Koi Joy, photographic fractal art by Wallowa, OR, artist Debbie Lind

Since that first memorable and financially satisfying professional art show, Lind has entered many others, as well as published her work in calendars, telephone books, brochures, and flyers. Wherever she goes she has an eye out for the next intriguing shot, and while she describes herself as not a photojournalist, she seeks to create images that spark conversation, imbue emotion, and catch the viewer’s eye and soul.

“If I’m in the right place at the right time, I’ll be taking photos of it.”

Living in a rural area provides plenty of subject matter, but the downside is that if the printer runs out of ink, only two sheets of photo paper remain in the packet, or none of the frames in her studio are the right size, she can’t pop down to the local office or art store to replenish supplies. For this reason, she has commandeered the largest bedroom in the house for her studio, occasionally spilling into the guest bedroom with supplies and inventory.

Letting the Creative Process Lead

Prominent on the studio wall is a quote she found in a magazine, which she says encapsulates how she approaches her photographic and fractal art:

“Let go of needing to know what you will create before you have begun. Instead, allow the creative process to be one of self-discovery, moment-to-moment revelation, and pure freedom.”

Every day is a new opportunity to learn more about art, photography, the digital world, fractal creativity, running a business, and life in general, and while trying new things has its unnerving side, it results in great satisfaction as well. Lind reminds herself of this as she experiments with new ways of marketing her photography, the latest involving selling fine art cards at local farmers’ markets where, incidentally, one finds broccoli, and cauliflower.

“As I get older, I feel a little braver in putting myself ‘out there.’ I’ve been telling myself, if not now, when?” Lind muses.

“I’m almost, or already, considered a senior citizen: I already get discounts at restaurants.

“So what’s next for me? I’m taking chances.”

Wenaha Gallery

Debbie Lind is the featured Art Event artist at Wenaha Gallery from Monday, October 22 through Saturday, November 17.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

autumn sunflower floral mixed media photographic art gay waldman

Digital Revolution — The Enhanced Photographic Art of Gay Waldman

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Autumn Sunflower, mixed media photographic digital art by Spokane artist Gay Waldman.

The great thing about the digital revolution is that Gay Waldman can now wash clothes in her laundry room.

For years, the Spokane artist — who creates digitally enhanced photographs through Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter and Nik Software  — set up a darkroom in either her bath or laundry room so that she could build collages and enlarged images of her abstract/representational fusion art.

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Autumn Gold Sentinels, digital photographic art by Spokane artist, Gay Waldman — celebrating the world of nature with an abstract twist.

Leaping into the Digital Revolution

“I am very fortunate to have taken the leap into the digital world in 1994,” Waldman says, explaining that she build upon computer skills in marketing and bookkeeping to  achieve prowess in photo-restoration. As the Internet improved, so did her abilities, to the point that she eventually built her own computer to meet the unique digital needs of her art. She also dismantled her physical darkroom and turned to professional photo lab processors for her printing needs, allowing her to focus exclusively on multimedia photomontage that integrates the light, color, texture, and form of natural images.

“My photographs record reality and are the starting point of all my images,” Waldman says. “When I depress the shutter, the image is captured, and I will use it at a later date as a component in a new work of art.”

Digital Art: More Than Pressing Buttons

It’s much more than pressing a button or clicking on a few keyboard keys, she adds, with even seemingly simple images requiring a good eye, technical prowess, and experience stemming from years of exploration and experimentation. Originally trained as a painter, Waldman also employs traditional media such as colored pencils, pastel, acrylic paint, and oil to add detail and color, resulting in a mixed media melange that encourages the viewer to pause a moment, absorb the image, and make a connection with form in color, line and shape.

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In the reception area of the Women’s Imaging Center of Gritman Medical Center in Moscow, ID, four of Gay Waldman’s digital photographic artworks add a glow of color and form.

“My artwork making is a never-ending, intuitive journey of my fascination of the relationship between organic object and man-made objects,” Waldman says. “I love the intricacy of leaves, tree patterns, flower petals, vines, how light falls everywhere, shadows, horizons, water, and all sorts of growth.”

Endless Ideas

Never far from a notebook to jot down ideas which exhibit no sign of stopping, Waldman draws upon a vast collection of photographs taken through the years to develop concepts expressing an appreciation for design.

“Art making is my addiction: I crave the exploration and the creative process of manipulating images, and my passion is to push my photographs into images that expose my originality.”

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“Why We Live Here,” Gay Waldman’s public art installation at the Spokane Convention Center.

Waldman sells her work through galleries, her studio, her website, and at Northwest festivals including those in Boise, Seattle, and Coeur d’Alene.  A permanent collection of 24 of her works hangs in the Women’s Imaging Center of Gritman Medical Center in Moscow, ID. Additional public art includes “Celebrate Our City,” a five-panel installation at the Wells Fargo Building in Spokane, as well as “Why We Live Here,” an 85-foot wide by 20-foot tall mural at the Spokane Convention Center.

This latter project, which Waldman identifies as her most notable to date, involved a two-year process of applying, presentation, designing, and engineering, and the benefits have been enormous. Most gratifying is when individuals enter Waldman’s booth at an art festival and recognize her work from a public installation.

“When they meet me, it provides them a connection between the art and the artist.”

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Samba Garden, a digital array of flower blossoms and petals by photograph enhancer Gay Waldman of Spokane, WA

An Artist before the Digital Age

Like many highly creative people, Waldman has wanted to be an artist for as long as she can remember, and has never forgotten her kindergarten teacher’s comment on a report card — “Gay might be a great artist one day!” Her unique niche in photography came about because of a lack of time: upon graduating from the university and working many, many jobs to get by, Waldman found time and money short for painting. When she was approached about exhibiting her artwork at a special show, she supplemented paintings with photographs she had taken with the intent to paint someday. The next gallery show was all photographs, incorporating mixed media and collage, and a career was born.

“At that time, I didn’t realize photographs would be the foundation of all my artwork.

“My artwork and I keep growing with every exhibit, festival, and commission.

Pleasantly Busy

It’s a lifestyle that keeps an artist consistently but pleasantly busy, and while there may not be enough time to fold clothes in neat, organized piles, it’s nice to know that they don’t have to share space with bins of liquid chemicals. And while any given day looks remarkably different — from photographing to interior design consulting, from providing custom framing services for other artists to participating in an invitational, juried show, it’s all about art — and that’s worth spending time on.

“I am completely captivated with making art, because it’s the only thing in my life where I have total control of the outcome.”

Wenaha Gallery

Gay Waldman is the featured Art Event artist at Wenaha Gallery from Monday, April 9, 2018, through Saturday, Saturday, May 5, 2018.  

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.