I went with a friend to the Portland Art Museum on Tuesday to see the Mark Rothko retrospective.  It was a wonderful timeline of his early figurative work to the later, sublime abstracts that one associates with the name Rothko. 

 self portrait 1936

Most of the 45 paintings in the exhibition are on loan from the National Gallery of Art and the Rothko family. 

But THEN we left Rothko and walked upstairs and into an exhibition of the work of California sculptor John Frame. His Three Fragments of a Lost Tale installation completely and totally blew us away. I would say, left us breathless actually...

This incredible experience began with footage from the stop motion animated film project, The Tale of the Crippled Boy, he has been working on for the past 6 years. All the characters are fully sculpted and meticulously detailed by the artist with tiny jointed fingers and emotion behind their eyes. I felt an instant connection to the work, in part, I'm sure, due to the tiny attention to detail, but you can't help but feel a human connection of sorts, albeit from an alternate universe. The characters are on display, in a darkened room with spotlights, which feels like an extension of the film. 

You can see the entire twelve and a half minute film here: http://johnframesculpture.com/film

as well as more of John Frame's amazing body of work.

John Frame spoke to a sold out audience at the museum on March 18th. I missed it but caught it here.

Portland peeps, don't miss it. 

Paired with the Rothko retrospective through May 27th, you may just walk away feeling like it was the best $15 you've ever spent...

New Work

It's been a while and I wanted to share some of the new work I've completed in the past month. Between The Real Mother Goose, David Frank and etsy, I find my days filled with work. So much so that the dog is right now staring me down to get out for a walk and all I want to do is get back into the studio!

high domed Ohwyee jasper ring

lots of Nevada boulder turquoise

lots of interesting pearls

Pendants: a nice tourmalated quartz and African petrified wood

Gorgeous Montana agate and citrine

finished today: Sonoran dendritic rhyolite and freshwater pearls

Sometimes I despair that I work too slowly, producing one piece at a time, but when I see it all together I realize I'm actually getting more done from week to week then I think I am, and enjoying the process along the way... 

I guess I'll get that guy out for his walk while it's not raining!

How I Spent My Weekend

This weekend found me out of my studio for once, and into Sara Swink's studio instead. A couple of friends and I took Sara's two day creative process workshop. That was two days that just flew by. The first day concentrated more on collaging and doodling while in day 2 we got to get into the clay. Check out this feature on Sara, her art, and her workshops in American Craft Magazine.

One of Sara's newer pieces, almost finished

Sara's West Linn, Oregon studio is surrounded by large trees and it was delightful to be inside and warm while the rain pounded on the roof.

Sara, doing some 'splainin' and a few examples of the output from day 1 on the walls...

At the end of day 2, checking out the fruits of our collective labors

I came away refreshed and revitalized DISPITE the fact that we had all lost an hour of sleep due to daylight savings time!

Ready to get back to work in my own medium, and a little bit sorry I have to put the clay aside. However, I will be back to Sara's on one of her Saturday open studio days for more clay time. 

Bottom line, I highly recommend this workshop, Sara's a great teacher. Thanks Sara!!

Sara and friend.

A Soggy Day and a Swollen Willamette River

We decided to brave the rain and take the dog for a walk under the I-205 bridge this afternoon to see what the Willamette looked like. With all the rain we've been having lately, it was abnormally high, muddy and churning. 

The stream was rushing down under the bridge releasing itself into the river... The dog was in mud heaven.

The old Oregon City bridge, in repair mode looked bleak and deserted.

The Willamette Falls, practically disappear in the high water.

The recently shut down Blue Heron paper mill just below the falls. Large logs and trees tumbled past on their way toward The Columbia.

It's all we can do to keep this guy out of the water. As it was, he was so wet by the time we got home, a bit of a dip wouldn't have mattered!

rain rain, go away...

Birds on the Brain

The annual Christmas bird count is on and that got me thinking about some of my favorite birders...

original etching by Fleurografie

    sculptural bird feeder by joepapendick

photograph by PhotogenicGallery

Lovebirds by peylu

Victorian bird pin from WickedDarling

vintage falcon print from carambas

woodland print by LouisestArt

prepare to laugh your *** off! MincingMockingbird

limited edition print by TheJoyofColor

bird vase by catherinereece

Happy birding and a very happy Holiday to all!

SeeLifeShine

Ms Flora Abunda

Several years ago metal sculptor and friend Linley Schetky asked me to work with her on a collaborative project sponsored by Art in the Pearl, here in Portland. I jumped at the chance because I love spending time with Linley, and I had already learned the basic welding and plasma cutting skills from her while helping her out in her studio.

We decided to do a life sized, or in this case, bigger that life sized figure which we named Flora Abunda. Made from steel rod and found objects and topped with a floral crown, she's currently residing at Lawrence Gallery in Sheridan, Oregon. She is looking for a home that can accommodate her. She eats very little. As you can see, she's not even skin and bones, just bones. And she has a very pleasant personality...

With our girl at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in the Pearl district

For me, working large, in steel was very freeing. After I got used to the idea that I didn't have to file and fit every joint to perfection before welding I found a whole new world of really being able to manhandle the material. I really, really want to do more of it!

This week's output...

Last week I finished the majority of my orders and this week I strove to make one new piece each day. Some of the work took several days, some could be completed in a single day. Thanks to a CD of music my daughter made for me I was able to saw, hammer and solder, and set all while rocking out to "mama mix". Thanks Caelen!

posted to etsy on Monday, fossilized coral

these turquoise and pearl earrings were also a Monday addition but sold within a few hours...(!)

Dalmatian jasper drops on Tuesday

these pretty little coin pearl studs appeared on Wednesday

Thursday- Cherry Creek jasper and freshwater pearls

And today I finished a stacking ring set in sterling.

I'll definitely be back at it tomorrow! You can check out more of my work at betsybensen.etsy.com.