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May/June 2007 Eva Lake: Earth Quake |
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She then spent ten years working as a make-up artist in San Francisco, working with clients like Grace Jones and the band members of Duran Duran, even earning a daytime Emmy for her make-up work on a popular PBS show called Mathnet. She went on to work for Chanel and Ferragamo in the 1990s.
“I actually learned a lot about painting by blending make-up”, says Lake.
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Painter Eva Lake took a circuitous route in finding her artistic voice. Her eccentric journey began in southern Oregon and landed her in Portland, by way of London, San Francisco and New York.
After growing up in Jacksonville, OR, Lake got involved with music and followed the punk rock scene to London in the 70’s, performing in several bands and even cutting a record.
In the 80’s she studied art for two years at the Art Students League of New York, a highly regarded school in Manhattan that has flourished for 132 years and boast such alumni as Georgia O’Keefe, Jackson Pollack, Andy Warhol and Betty Feves. |
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photo by Wil Perkinson |
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Open Regional Exhibit April/May 2007 View video of the Judge’s Critique HERE
Artists from across Eastern Oregon and Southeast Washington converged on the Pendleton Center for the Arts Friday for the unveiling of the Open Regional Exhibit. Amateurs and professionals, teens and adults all vied for more than $1200.00 in prize money and award ribbons that were custom-crafted by inmates at EOCI.
Judge Mare Blocker handed out 19 awards in a range of categories, including several Special Merit Awards. Banner Bank of Pendleton sponsored the cash awards for both adults and teens.
“This is really time for the artists in the community to shine, and we were just overwhelmed with the talent and energy that was represented in the work this year”, said Exhibit Committee Chair Lorie Baxter.
Blocker agreed, telling the artists during her Critique that the quality of the work made judging extremely difficult. The Critique is the Judge’s opportunity to talk about the criteria that she used in handing out awards, and impart tips and suggestions. Blocker’s background combines 30 years of practical experience as a working artist and her more recent academic credentials, receiving a Masters of Fine Arts degree from University of Idaho in 2006.
“Mare did a great job communicating her thought process to the artists”, said Arts Center Director Roberta Lavadour. “I think that everyone left the event with sound, practical information that they can begin applying to their own work right away”.
Best of Show was awarded to Kevin Boylan of La Grand, whose sculpture titled “Fluid” captured Blockers interest with its multi-layered way of addressing the concept of water and the way the materials cast shadows and created what she called “miniature drawings” within the structure. “The work has a nice integration of line and form, and was really one of the most technically difficult pieces in the show to create”.
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Artists listen to Judge Mare Blocker give her critique |
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Sam Collett’s entry “His Day” |
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Carole McCarty: Cloudscapes Jan. 26 - Feb. 23, 2007
Carole McCarty has worked in an astonishing range of media, including fiber arts, children’s book illustration, wood carving, and, for the past 15 years, oil painting.
This body of work features paintings of the high desert sky. Definitely one of the most beautiful exhibits to be displayed in the East Oregonian Gallery. |
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Dennis Hull of the National Weather Service visited the EO gallery to give a group of guests, including two girl scout troupes, a meteorologist's view of the cloud formations pictured in Carole’s artworks.
The intersection of art and science made for an engaging and informative presentation and added another dimension to the viewing of the exhibit.
Dennis presented each guest with a NOAA poster showing a variety of cloud formations and Carole was on hand to sign postcards as well. |
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One of the indigenous people of the Columbia River Gorge, Lillian Pitt (Warm Springs, Wasco, Yakima) is known as a great innovator within her tradition. She has chosen to work in clay using Asian techniques like raku and anagama, to work in bronze or precious metals, to incorporate wood, copper, glass, shell, leather, feathers and a wide variety of other materials. She mixes media and technologies from around the world.
Pitt’s new exhibit, “Ancestors” opened Friday, July 27 in the Pendleton Center for the Arts East Oregonian Gallery with an Artist’s Reception from 5:30 – 7:00 pm. Pitt displays a wide range of media and techniques, including lithographs she produced during a recent residency at Crow’s Shadow Institute.
The petroglyphs of the Columbia Gorge are central to Pitt’s work. Thousands of years ago the drawings were chipped or ground into rock to depict tribal legends, hunting scenes and mysticism. In 1957, rising waters behind The Dalles Dam submerged hundreds of petroglyphs. A few were pried away and stored before being moved to Washington’s Columbia Hills State Park. They depict deer, mountain sheep and the humans who hunt them along with thunderbirds, owls, fish and a mysterious creature with long flowing tentacles.
The most well-known of these images, and one that is pivotal in Pitt’s work is Tsagagllallal, more commonly referred to as “She-Who-Watches”. Tsagagllallal was the last woman chief a Columbia Gorge village. When coyote, the great changer, told her there would no longer be woman chiefs, he asked her what did she want to do? She asked to stay forever and watch over her people. He turned her into the image we see today, and that inspires Lillian's work. Through her artwork Pitt personifies the spirit of “She-Who-Watches”, engendering a sense of community and reminding all people of the magic and fragility of the earth.
While Pitt resides in Portland, she has several Pendleton connections, including the Pendleton Woolen Mills. She has created designs for several limited edition blankets, most recently "Coyote and the Huckleberry Sisters", which is featured on the cover of the latest Native Artist magazine.
The “Ancestors” exhibit is made possible through the support of Larry Burd Well Drilling and Imsland Appraisal Company, and free admission to the exhibit is made possible through Wildhorse Foundation.
“This will be a wonderful opportunity for the Pendleton community and visitors to see work by one of the Northwest’s premier artists,” said Arts Center Director Roberta Lavadour. “Lillian has been front and center on the arts scene for many years and her work helps others to understand the beauty and power of the Columbia Gorge stories”. |
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July/Aug 2007 Lillian Pitt: Ancestors |
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More! Past Exhibit Highlights |
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This website is owned and maintained by the Arts Council of Pendleton and the Pendleton Center for the Arts © 2005 The Arts Council of Pendleton is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization established in 1974 This site is generously sponsored by Eastern Oregon Telecom |
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(tele) 541-278-9201 email us |
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Sept/Oct. 2007 Bonnie Zahn Griffith: A Hundred Mile Radius Doug Gisi: New Work |
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We were proud to partner with Hamley to bring two incredible exhibits to the Center. Bonnie Griffith’s pastels depicted the landscape surrounding the Pendleton and Walla Walla areas in vibrant color, showing off her mastery of the medium.
Doug Gisi transforms discarded farm implements and other found metal into surprisingly elegant and formal works. Gisi is definitely someone with a bright art career ahead of him. His impeccable craftsmanship and sophisticated eye come together to elevate these works into the realm of fine art. |