Artist: Fred Swan

About the Artist

Fred started painting with encaustics and building collages following a significant life event and the loss of the sight in one of his eyes. Having once been a detailed wildlife and western artist, the fluid luminosity of wax and the textural qualities of crushed and recycled paper have became  metaphors through which he has transitioned his changed perceptions of the world. 

Fred graduated from the University of Oregon majoring in art and later from the Graduate School of Social Work at PSU. He has lived in Oregon the majority of his life and has four grown children. 

“The muted images of encaustic, hinting of the sharp detail and substance that lies just under the surfaces of our experiences, provides me with an opportunity to find a balance between the visual and opinionated clarity I was so certain of as a youth and the nuances and more ‘forgiving’ aspects of my perceptions as I am becoming older.”

Artist: Amanda Nelson

About the Artist

Amanda began working with stained glass in 1999. She had talked about doing stained glass for years until one of her friends called her out and said, “Why don't you just do it?!”

It hit a nerve and, literally, the next day she found a woman who taught classes out of her garage. After taking classes every week for three years, Amanda went out on her own and has been creating one-of-a-kind jewelry and stained glass ever since. She has always loved jewelry, vintage, antiques and old buildings. She describes her style as a touch of Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Vintage Hippy, with just a hint of Badass.

Using the Tiffany stained glass method, Amanda makes her jewelry with lead-free silver solder made of silver, copper and tin. Sometimes she also incorporates wire and found objects. For her bug pendants she adds metal wings and little legs, letting the stones come to life as whimsical, avant-garde creatures. Every piece Amanda fashions is original and made with her heart and soul.

Amanda will create custom windows on occasion. She really enjoys making solder jewelry and can do custom jewelry, as well.

Email

glassbones13@gmail.com

Artist: EMEK

This is part of a series of posts profiling the artists and performers taking part in Works 2012. We are highlighting a different artist every few days, so please visit again to learn about the groups and individuals we have the pleasure of showcasing this year.

About the Artist
Emek lives in many worlds. His art shows it. Born a decade after the 60's, he was nevertheless influenced by 60's culture and counter-culture. Emek was raised in an environment that supported his crazy artistic aspirations. Both his parents are artists, too!

His first poster commission was for a unity rally after the L.A. riots of 1992. It was a concert/rally held on Martin Luther King Day. The poster was a success and Emek was on his way to bigger things.

Psychedelic 60's imagery collides into 90's post industrial iconography. To this collision of organic vs. mechanic worlds are added Emek's humor, social commentary and fantasy and even in the smallest details there are messages.

"I appreciate the creative freedom this medium allows me because the bands generally give me total freedom as long as I advertise the show info. I am allowed to dip into the recesses of my imagination and see what spills out onto the page. This allows me to be my own art director and I am able to experiment with different concepts and styles to keep things fresh. Today's disposable culture paves the way for tomorrow’s nostalgia...I'm just trying to make it interesting"

All of Emek's artwork is originally hand drawn, then silkscreened for the actual concerts and events. Most are printed in limited editions of 300. He signs them, too! His visual style has graced music posters from BB King to the Sex Pistols. Emek has painted album covers for Neil Young and Pearl Jam as well as for many punk and alternative bands. He was invited to exhibit at the opening of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame "History Of Rock Posters" exhibition and has been featured in national and international magazines. Emek also recently painted a music cover for the Washington Post and had an alumni exhibition at his university. His work is also permanently displayed in Hard Rock Cafe's the world over.

Website
http://www.emek.net/

Artist: Beth Myrick

This is part of a series of posts profiling the artists and performers taking part in Works 2012. We are highlighting a different artist every few days, so please visit again to learn about the groups and individuals we have the pleasure of showcasing this year.

About the Artist

Beth is a Portland based artist working mostly in aerosol.  Beth creates hand-made stencils, wood cuts and uses spray paint to create forms of animals, peoples and words, from “cutesy” images to neo-political.  She has been a very active artist in Portland for many years, sharing “spray paint love” and collaborating with many artists in the fine art, craft and graf scenes.   In a male dominated “graf” scene, Beth has emerged as one of Portland’s best “spray paint” artists, showing in salons, restaurants and galleries.

She lives, paints (a lot), and works and loves in Portland, Oregon.

Website

 http://www.facebook.com/people/Beth-Myrick/664650345

Artist: Anna Magruder

This is an installment in a series of posts profiling the artists and performers taking part in Works 2012. We are highlighting a different artist every few days, so please visit again to learn about the groups and individuals we have the pleasure of showcasing this year.

 

About the Artist
Anna’s passion is oil painting and illustration. Her favorite subjects are people and animals. Drifting between realism and surrealism, Anna loves recreating vintage America, reimagining the lives and stories of strong women, capturing the dormant kookiness of a local cat, or just exploring the emotional color of faces in the crowd.

After graduating from college, Anna traveled and worked as a graphic designer, moving from Texas to Colorado and eventually migrating north to Portland where she opened her own graphic design business. In 2009, Anna decided to take a leap of faith and leave the routine and security of  her design business to focus on her passion—oil painting and illustration.

Website
http://www.annamagruder.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/annamagruder

Artist: Chris Haberman

This  is the first in a series of posts profiling the artists and performers taking part in Works 2012. We are highlighting a different artist every few days, so please visit again to learn about the groups and individuals we have the pleasure of showcasing this year.

About the Artist
A Portland native, Chris Haberman is a working writer, painter, muralist, curator and musician. Aside from painting, he has published poetry, journalism and fiction; being awarded the Tom Doulis Fiction award, the Wilma Morrison award for excellence in journalism and is a lifetime member to the Academy of American Poets.

All of Chris Haberman’s artwork is created on found (post-consumer materials) objects, given or “found” on the streets and alleyways of Portland, OR, a discarded cabinet door or table top quickly becomes the backdrop for a integrated puzzle of human figures. The multitude of “folk art” images pushed together with words, objects and figures reflects the complexity of our modern life of people, politics, the region, pop-culture, media, music, film and literature.

Chris is also a fervent freelance curator, and has coordinated hundreds of Portland art exhibits with regional artists. This is the second year Intown has partnered with Chris and his gallery, People’s Art of Portland, for Works.

Website
http://peoplesartofportland.com/