Three Rivers Artist Guild

P.O. Box 2648

Oregon City, OR 97045

Meetings every 2nd Monday 7pm

Meeting Address: Pioneer Center

615 5th Street (at Washington) in Oregon City

Telephone 503.518.1011

NEWS STORY ABOUT FIRST FRIDAY

August Featured Artist

Teresa Kuchler

Who knew that those paint-by-number pieces Teresa Kuchler got for Christmas when she was a child would lead to her Camelot.

The Oregon City artist is the First Friday Art Walk featured artist for the Aug. 6 event along historic Main Street in downtown Oregon City. The monthly showcase for local artists is sponsored by non-profit Downtown Oregon City and the Three Rivers Artist Guild.

Kuchler can’t remember a time when she wasn’t painting or being creative. An acrylic artist, she realized a big dream three years ago when she opened Camelot Art Studios at her home. She uses the space to create her projects and she also teaches a variety of classes at the studio.

When she is not painting or teaching classes, Kuchler volunteers with TRAG. She is on the First Friday committee and is on the group’s board of directors, where she serves as secretary.

“First Friday is such a great event, she said. “It’s a great venue to introduce new artists and it also connects artists to the community and businesses.”

Primarily an acrylic artist, Kuchler enjoys folk art as well as fine art of the Renaissance.

She uses only eco-friendly and versatile acrylics and paints on glass, canvas, wood and tin.

“In this day and age where many of the old techniques are being lost, I have been fortunate to have had teachers who have studied the originals and can emulate the techniques with today‘s safer pigments,” she said.

Kuchler is intrigued by the sacred arts of iconography and illustrated manuscripts. For the last two summers, she has attended summer seminars at the Iconographic Arts Institute in Mount Angel.

The institute, she said, is unique to the United States. The teachers lead the students step-by-step in the traditional art of writing an icon as they teach the “how” and “why” of the complex process.

“The work is a mediation unto itself and the icon is written through the artists hands,” she said.

First Fridays in Summer 5 to 8 p.m. First Friday artists move outside with Arts in Action artists showing and creating their work street side. And local musicians perform street side.

7th May
4th June
2nd July
6th August
3rd September

Serving artists from Oregon City

and the surrounding communities.

From President-Elect, Mike Wonser

TRAG MEMBERS INVOLVED AND BUSY

This past year TRAG has introduced several new venues for members to showcase their artwork and activities for member participation. As we have welcomed many new members in just the past few months, I thought it time to showcase these art venues and the present committee members and encourage any new members, and sustaining members, to consider participating in one of these projects this next year as we will be changing out committee memberships in November. Our goal is to add two-three new members to each committee for 2011.

TRAG GALLERY: Located in the historic district, the gallery shares space with Friends of the Library Bookstore at 7th and Center. Being open daily and staffed by participating artists, the gallery is an excellent venue for showcasing our member’s artwork to the visiting public. Exhibitions are changed out each three months to keep the gallery ‘fresh’ and provide more artists the opportunity to show. The Gallery Committee under the leadership of Lynda Orzen consists of Janice Gunderson, Ingrid Aubry, Debbie Ellis and Mary McCarty.

FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK: This event involves artists set up with displays of their artwork and doing demonstrations of their medium on the downtown sidewalks. This has grown to include the 14th Street ‘Cottage Row’ and Washington Street. Open to TRAG members and non-members, the Art Walk Committee places artists to ‘fit’ with the particular business in which they are in front of as well as mixing media throughout the downtown and changing artist’s locations each Art Walk to keep the event ‘fresh’ for the numerous visitors we have each first Friday of the month. Responsible for the placement of artists and coordinating the event is the Art Walk Committee under the leadership of Laura Rambo assisted by Teresa Kuchler, Melanie Monge and Mike Wonser.

ART IN WINDOWS: The premier TRAG community art out-reach program, this venue provides exhibits of TRAG member’s artworks in downtown participating business windows. Beginning with exhibits in empty storefronts, this program has evolved to include exhibits inside businesses and the Nomad Gallery as well. Selecting, maintaining and installing these exhibits with change-outs each three months is the responsibility of the Art in Windows committee under the guidance of Glenda Richards and includes Jodi Dann, Jude Welter and Karen Grondin.

INSTALLATIONS also becoming known as Gallery 221: Coming under the domain of TRAG from other involvements, this venue provides exhibitions of member’s artwork at Oregon City Planning Department, Citizen’s Bank and Beavercreek Telephone Company and is changed-out three times annually. These exhibits are selected, maintained and installed by the Installations/Gallery 221 Committee under the leadership of Mary McCarty and Mindy Benfield and includes Iva Wakeman and Susan Schenk.

TRAG ART FAIR: As part of the premier Oregon City First City Celebration scheduled at the end of this month (July), the Art Fair which includes up to 60 artists with booths on closed-off Main Street will be augmented with kid’s activities, live entertainment, a car show and a wine tasting and food venue under the overall domain of Main Street Oregon City, the association of building and business owners, downtown Oregon City. The Art Fair segment has been planned, organized and implemented by Lynda Orzen and Janice Gunderson with the assistance of many TRAG and non-TRAG volunteers.

The ABC Committee (Arts in Business and Community) is the overall coordinating committee for the above TRAG outreach art programs to provide communication, planning and activity between the various committees and with TRAG membership as a whole. Under the guidance of Mike Wonser, Chair, and Laura Rambo, Co-Chair, this overall committee is made up of those various committee memberships above as well as at-large members: Russ Eversole, Paula Lewis, Linda McCarthy, Lloyd Purdy, Beth Miles and Kellee Beaudry.

HOLIDAY ART SHOW: Held each year prior to Christmas, the annual Holiday Art Show gives TRAG members the opportunity to showcase and sell their artwork to the visiting public. Artists set up booths in the Community Center on Washington Street. This venue is under the guidance of Janice Gunderson and Pat Wendt and involves TRAG volunteers in layout and overall set-up.

THREE RIVERS ARTIST GUILD GALLERY