'The Art of Interbeing' on display at Hood River Library through Nov. 29
From Donna Henderson:
“The Art of Interbeing,” a group exhibition of recent work by five Oregon abstract artists, will be on display from November 1-29 in the Hood River Library Conference Room.
The group, which includes Maupin artist Donna Henderson, was founded in August 2020 during a weekly Zoom “open studio” initially led by Eugene artist Zoë Cohen. Amid the uncertainty and isolation of the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group itself became an essential source of mutual support as members navigated the challenges of the time. The artists forged such a strong connection that they have continued to meet weekly ever since and to regularly exhibit together, most recently at galleries in The Dalles, Eugene, and Independence.
Interbeing Group Statement & Exhibit History
Although we initially met online, we forged such a strong connection that we have continued to meet weekly, mostly online, ever since. We have now had two group exhibits with a third scheduled for November 2023.
The restrictions of the pandemic challenged each of us to adapt our art practice to new circumstances. We inspired and encouraged each other, and in the process received the healing and hope that both art and community effect. We each have found freedom and new directions in our art practice. While our individual artistic esthetics are distinct and specific, we influence each other’s work in sometimes subtle, sometimes surprising ways, for example by related color palettes or compositional elements. This is an organic process that may happen indirectly without conscious intention. An intentional way we do this is by trading “starts” (work in early stages) for another artist to continue and complete. These collaborative pieces have enabled us to look at our own art with fresh ideas as well as being a lot of fun.
While the “warp” of our individual work remains distinct, the “weft” reflects the conversation of the collective as well as the times in which we make our art.
Exhibits:
Interbeing artists have shared three group exhibitions since our founding in August 2020, with another forthcoming in November 2023.
1. The Dalles Art Center, The Dalles, Oregon, June 2021: “Art of the Zoom: Unmute yourself” (https://www.thedallesartcenter.org/copy-of-current-exhibit)
2. Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene, Oregon, Jan-Feb 2023.
(https://www.mkartcenter.org/exhibits.html#currentexhibit)
3. The River Gallery, Independence, Oregon, September, 2023.
Susan Thomas
Eugene artist Susan Thomas works intuitively with an eye for pattern, line, shape, and color not only literally, but abstractly. Discovering beauty in unusual places, she attempts to reveal what’s under, beside, or behind what she’s seeing. Trying to then represent this on paper is a creative challenge that she delights in. She says: “It’s like shining a light on something previously unseen or sharing a bit of myself in a way I’ve never done before.” The element of experimentation offers surprises as she gains an understanding of the point at which to tune into composition and make more intentional use of lines, forms, gestures, and color. Movement and light are often apparent in her work and this appears instinctively also, coming from inside, possibly expressing something she is unable to say in mere words.
Susan has been making art all her life. The desire to make art came naturally, expressing something from within. She painted throughout high school, had work displayed in several local shows, and then graduated with a degree in art education from Indiana University. After a year working toward an MFA at Ohio University, she started a family and art was paused for a couple of decades. With more time once her sons were grown and gone from home, she felt drawn back to art. She started taking watercolor classes at a women’s co-op gallery in Roseburg, Oregon and was invited to join that gallery where she painted, taught and exhibited for several years until moving to Eugene. She also made Raku pottery during this time. Thomas was intrigued when she saw that Eugene artist Zoë Cohen was teaching an Abstract Acrylic class and she has continued studying with Cohen for several years. Thomas has exhibited her work in multiple Oregon venues.
Teresa Myrmo
Eugene artist Teresa Myrmo practiced Chinese brush painting and Sumi-e painting for 20 years before exploring non-representational abstract painting. She merges two very different styles and techniques in her paintings and mixed media works. Describing her process of exploration, she says: “What I found was how much beauty there is in ordinary, everyday things in life that I had often taken for granted or just overlooked.”
Teresa holds a degree in Education from the University of Oregon. Having always had an interest in Asian art, she began taking art classes in Chinese brush painting which evolved to include Sumi-e painting. For the next 20 years she studied with several local brush painters/artists including Catherine Williams, Kathy Hoy, Wilma Dickerson and Dan Chen. She has also been in workshops with several international painters and teachers such as artist/author Lian Zhen, artist/author Prof. I-Hsiung Ju, artist Prof. Renli Chen, AFCA of Shanghai, artist Henry Li and artist/author Eileen Fong of Vancouver, B.C. Feeling she needed to add challenge and perhaps excitement to her work, Teresa decided to explore some new materials and techniques that might be combined with these centuries-old art forms to create something with new life. Her work has been shown in a variety of venues in Eugene including Maude Kerns Art Center as well as at the The Dalles Art Center, in The Dalles, OR.
Jan Lintz
Eugene artist Jan Lintz exhibits abstract works created with a process of layering. Vessels, arches, and repetitive patterns reflect an inner emotional and symbolic landscape. Lintz says of her work: “What may initially appear chaotic often begins to unfold a complex balance over the course of multiple layers, allowing an inherent message or meaning to reveal itself.”
Jan is fascinated by both art and medicine. While working at University Hospital Cardiac ICU, she completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1990 mentored by sculptor Truman Lowe and painter Carol Pylant. For a number of years, she actively produced and exhibited representational figure and still life paintings and abstract found object sculptures. The International Heart Institute headed by Carlos Duran, MD utilized her medical illustrations in textbooks and journal articles published in the US and France. Her art focused mainly on nature photography while practicing family medicine from 2001 returning to making art full time in July 2020. Her current focus is abstract painting, initially in acrylic/mixed media, and now in oil/cold wax medium. Lintz has exhibited in multiple shows at the Maude Kerns Art Center as well as other venues in Oregon and Wisconsin and was invited to show in the Eugene Biennial 2022.
Donna Henderson
Maupin artist Donna Henderson makes mixed media works created in what she describes as a “call and response” process. She starts with a few marks or strokes of paint, or some collaged paper shapes, and then responds intuitively until the composition takes on a life of its own. She is especially drawn to and influenced by the beauty in the world that may go unnoticed (the rich colors and textures of rust and paint on a dumpster, for instance), and to the process of assembling fragments into new forms of “whole.”
Donna majored in studio art as an undergraduate at Western Oregon University. Since then, she has studied with artists whose work she admires, but is otherwise self-taught. She holds graduate degrees in creative writing and social work and is currently in independent practice as a psychotherapist. Donna has exhibited her work widely in Oregon, including at the Maude Kerns Art Center in Eugene, The Dalles Art Center, The River Gallery in Independence, and other venues. She has published 4 collections of poetry, most recently "Send Word," which incorporates her recent artwork in its cover and graphic design.
Mary Garrard
Corvallis artist Mary Garrard makes mixed media abstract work, artists’ books, and botanical prints on paper. She approaches abstract work by activating the surface with collage or paint, then builds up layers until the piece works. Sometimes that happens surprisingly quickly, sometimes it takes many layers. Spontaneity plays a part, as does the interplay between intuition and intention. She may crop or tear her work, sometimes in a fit of exasperation, and rearrange the shards with other elements. The physicality of paint and paper materials is inspiring. The pieces in this exhibition titled “de/re-construction” are a result of the cropping/rearranging process.
Mary Garrard began making art 25 years ago while following a career in health care. She studied life drawing and painting with Phil Sylvester of the Drawing Studio in Portland, OR, for a decade and has taken painting and monotype printmaking workshops with regional artists. She studied life drawing, painting, printmaking and art history at Oregon State University (OSU) with Andy Myers, Yuji Hiratsuka, Anna Fidler, Stephen Hayes, and others. After the pandemic forced an abrupt closure to in-person studio work, she began making art with Interbeing. Her work has been shown in various art galleries in Oregon, including The Art Center of Corvallis and the Giustina, Fairbanks, and Concourse Galleries at OSU. Interbeing has had two exhibitions, most recently at Maude Kerns Art Center in Eugene. She also makes botanical prints, a technique that involves extracting natural pigments from plant materials using heat, moisture, and pressure.
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