Growing up in Germany, Helga Winter never imagined becoming an artist of any kind, much less a woodturner. “When I was a child, I did a lot of knitting and crocheting, but it wasn’t considered art because it was practical,” she says. “When I left school, I worked as a doctor’s assistant.”
When artist and jewelrymaker Elyse Bunkers discovered metal, she knew she’d found her medium. “It’s nice to work with such a stable material,” she says. “But I also like that I can manipulate it.”
An unexpected trip to Oregon in 1992 changed the trajectory of mixed-media artist Vicki Grayland’s life. “I was on my way to Venezuela on an environmental vacation and then the organization canceled the trip because of the political situation there,” says. “I looked for something else to fill the slot and came to a tai chi retreat in Southwestern Washington, and in my version of the classic Oregon story, I saw how incredibly beautiful it was here and started planning to come back.”
When painter Alison O’Donoghue was growing up, art was both a sibling bond and the basis for a bit of sibling rivalry.
While he was working and exhibiting in Germany, metal sculptor Mufu Ahmed’s friends gave him an unusual nickname: Iron Must Obey.
When fiber artist Anne Greenwood was a child, her artist-grandmother introduced her to art.
For jewelrymaker Susan Goodwin, crafting pieces is about recognizing what the material has to offer.
If you’re up for an afternoon that will net you a great little summer dress and a chance to meet’n’greet a handful of chatty shop owners, head to this Northeast Portland enclave of bohemian boutiques. The gentrified blocks are filled with a mix of twentysomethings and young families, and great places in which to find a gardenialike paper-shaded chandelier or a vibrant bolt or two of Japanese fabric.
Can’t let your idea for an aquarium center island go, even though your architect’s told you it would take six months and six figures to fabricate? Are your frugal tendencies keeping you in front of your computer sourcing house parts for beyond super-cheap? Oregon Home asked two architects and two designers for a blueprint for better homeowner-design pro relations.
Got a water-waster on your street who overwaters his lawn (and driveway) so frequently that neighbors have dubbed him Old Faithful? Thinking about busting up your concrete driveway for something a little more eco-friendly? Oregon Home asked landscape architects and native garden designers about turning a manicured lawn into a more natural place.
