August Scene - Flipbook - Page 20
Finding the spirit in the media: August at Artists' Gallery Sunriver
By Barb Gonzalez
Despite working with different materials, the featured artists at the Artists' Gallery look
for the spirit in their media and
let it inspire the final art.
Robin McQuiston allows the
glass to dictate the form. Karla
Proud finds raw stones, sees
the final gemstone in them and
creates artful jewelry pieces.
Terry Foster draws inspiration
for his woodwork by looking at
the textures, intricate patterns
and grain in wood. Carolyn
Waissman discovers the personality and spirit of animals and
portrays them in photographs.
Glassblower
McQuiston has spent more
than 25 years working with
glass, starting with glassblowing
in Seattle and now focusing on
kiln glass.
"I've always been fascinated
with glass and its many facets,"
McQuiston said. "It’s the ability to manipulate this brittle
medium to a variety of shapes
and designs that bring it alive
to deliver a moment of beauty
to the observer."
Her pieces layer fused glass
into designs echoing woven native blankets or stone-age cave
paintings of horses. Bowls and
platters cast colorful shadows
as light shines through the rich
colors of glass. She traces her
path back to 1989, when she
moved to Seattle and saw Dale
Chihuly's glass work for the
first time.
Jeweler
For Proud, the design is
already there before she picks
up a tool.
"My imagination runs wild
anytime I get my hands on a
new Oregon gemstone," Proud
said. "I can easily visualize the
final jewelry design and truly
enjoy the process."
And it shows. Her artistic
rings, earrings and necklaces
are works of art as she enhances
the beauty of the stone set in
gold or silver. Some settings
have an elevated elegance with
embedded diamonds. Her path
started in 1968, mining tourmaline in Southern California
and opening jewelry stores built
around natural history. Since
settling in Bend in 2004, her
focus has narrowed to Oregon
Karla Proud.
Robin McQuiston.
sunstones, prized for a range
of color and texture found nowhere else in the world.
Woodworker
Foster builds his work allowing the natural character of
the wood to guide the creative
process. Along with shelves and
other expected wood pieces, he
creates wooden pens with artful
mechanisms and kaleidoscopes.
Some of his clocks and cribbage
boards are filled with richly
colored resin that accentuates
the shape of the wood filling
in cracks and creating patterns.
“My work in woodworking
is driven by a deep appreciation for the natural beauty
and unique qualities of exotic woods," Foster said. "Each
Terry Foster.
piece I create is a celebration
of the wood’s natural patterns
and textures."
He lets the grain guide the
process rather than working
against it, a habit that started
in high school and has carried
through pieces sold at craft fairs
across Central Oregon.
Photographer
Waissman has carried a camera since she was 10 years old
shooting on a Brownie. A
lifelong pull toward nature and
wildlife led to years volunteering at the High Desert Museum where she observed the
animals, seeing their behaviors
August 18
Sing Along with the Song Collectors
With guitars, bass and banjo Gina
Rosbrook and Peggy Frede sing
everyone's favorite songs and hope
you'll join in too!
Page 20
AUGUST 2026 SUNRIVER SCENE
Carolyn Waissman.
and personalities. Her wildlife
photos bring the viewer close
up into the lives of the animals.
"The wildlife of Central Oregon is not separate from us – it
lives beside us," Waissman said.
Her portraits aim to show
not just what these animals
look like, but who they are.
"We are not visitors here. We
are neighbors," she added.
Plan to attend Second Saturday on Aug. 8 from 4 to 6 p.m.
to meet the artists and watch
them demonstrate their work.
Artists' Gallery Sunriver is in
The Village at Sunriver. Visit
artistsgallerysunriver.com for
gallery hours and information.
