November—Anne Gibson “A Sense of Wonder”

Written in the Shadows

A Sense of Wonder

with new works by Anne Gibson opens November 1,
from 3-7pm during the Old Mill District’s First Friday Gallery Walk.

 Anne Gibson continues to explore her deep love of place and near child-like sense
of wonder at the beauty of this world. Here, she takes a close look at one small Cascade lake that has borne witness to half a lifetime of joys and sorrows over three decades of hikes, skis, snowshoes, and meanderings in every season and virtually every month of the year.

“Do you have a place that’s engraved in your heart … for countless reasons?

• The forest scent as you drive in the access road that prompts you to roll down the windows?
• The slant of the sunlight through the trees? • The lichen that droops from the thick branches?
• The profusion of wildflowers and tadpoles and the tiniest little frogs?
• The happy splash as your pup chases another stick into the water?
• The times you skied or snowshoed in?
• The friends and family you shared it with?
• The intricate, tiny creeks that twist across the meadows?
• The year you tried to hike there every week of the summer to mark the new flowers in bloom?
• That achingly gorgeous October visit — be it sun-drenched, misty, or snowy?”

Anne also has grown increasingly interested in what her materials can do as she layers, scrapes, glazes, and adds marks with various media and tools, all while looking for the feel of that place, that memory, that golden day or chill morning.

“I think landscape gets a bad rap in contemporary art. Like it’s been done before.
But as we live through this climate emergency, it’s more important than ever to
appreciate the world around us. To see and savor one tree, or the glancing light
reflecting on the creek, or the rush of water cascading over a rock.
Perhaps it reminds us to be more mindful and make better choices every day.
I started painting landscapes because that’s what surrounds me and brings me peace in an increasingly chaotic world. I want to share that serenity in my art.”

Art and art making have always been central to Anne’s life, but she realized her dream to be an artist circuitously. With a BA in art history from Tufts University, she worked at the Worcester Art Museum in publications and marketing. At a graphic design studio in Providence, she created catalogs and promotional materials for museums, galleries, and colleges. She continued studio art courses at the School of Visual Arts, NY; the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and Rhode Island School of Design. After moving to
Central Oregon, she freelanced as a graphic designer, raised two children, and experimented with new media at the Bend Art Center and COCC. Anne’s paintings have appeared in group and solo shows in Bend and Portland, and on the Oregon coast.
Private, public, and corporate collections have acquired her work.

We look forward to seeing you at the November 1, First Friday Gallery Walk in
Bend, Oregon’s Old Mill District! If you can’t make the opening party
make sure to drop in during the month to see A Sense of Wonder with Anne Gibson’s evocative paintings of place and season.

Our galleries in the Old Mill District — Lubbesmeyers Studio & Gallery,
Stacks Studios & Gallery (just upstairs), and Amejko (in the little red house)
along with Tumalo Art Co. are the hub, and various stores host artists
for the First Friday Gallery Walk every month. Stop by—we have flyers and can direct you.