Art Elements is asking the viewers of its latest exhibit to search within themselves for what gives them a “sense of belonging” when they examine the Newberg gallery’s latest show.
In the exhibit “'Coming Home,' we invite you to explore what draws us to our dwelling places,” the gallery’s owners said in a release.
The exhibit, on display now and continuing through June 1, features Theresa Andreas-O’Leary’s acrylic paintings and the works of woodworkers Scott Parrish and Tom Willing.
The artists’ works “highlight the beauty in the everyday treasures that surround us in our homes,” the release said. “With equal portions of comfort and adventure, this show reminds us what a blessing is to have a place to call home.”
An artist reception is slated for 2 to 4 p.m. April 13 at the First Street gallery in Newberg. The three artists will be on hand to meet guests and talk about their work. Charcuterie and wine refreshments will be served as well.
As part of its announcement, the gallery released statements from each of the artists on their work, their process and their wish to be included in the show.
“‘Coming Home’ offers compositions with a nod to my memories,” Andreas-O’Leary said. “Reaching for beauty like tree limbs touching the sky. Reminiscent of a simple time with loved ones near. Time is passing, as my journey in search of home continues.”
She explained that her work involves layering via a “embedded ephemera” process she patterned after her discoveries rooting around in her grandmother’s China cabinet.
“Those paper placemats were my mother’s” and represented “truly vintage ephemera (that) adds ghost patterns and depth to denoted compositions.”
Parrish related that he began working with wood about seven years ago when he acquired a wood lathe.
“I enjoyed working with wood and enjoyed making bowls and platters,” he said. “I quickly realized that you need lots of big pieces of wood of many different varieties to have fun with the lathe. So, over the last five years I have set out to build a stock of wood to support my newfound hobby.”
Parrish explained that the works he submitted for the “Coming Home” exhibit mesh well with the intent of his art.
“The woods I have made pieces from are from my properties and are special since they are harvested or saved from where I live,” he said. “They are not purchased from any store or lumber yard.”
Willing got his start in woodworking a great distance away from Newberg.
"My becomings as an artist took root in the carefully cultivated woodlots of eastern Pennsylvania, where Shakers and Amishmen, Chippendale and Sheraton, Morris and Stickley crafted my early aesthetic for me, seeding my affinities for lumber from maple, sycamore, cherry, beech, walnut, oak, white ash and more,” he said.
When his family migrated to the Pacific Northwest, Willing found a whole new inventory of woods to explore and utilize in creating his works.
“I found new species of timber, full of promise to me as I learned their different ways of responding to my tools,” he said. “Now, a lifetime since, the mark left upon me by the many timbers I have been privileged to form into art is far deeper than the significance of my craft.”
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