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ENLARGE
Roseburg artist J. Lynn Peterson displays a self portrait last week at the Unpqua Valley Arts Center.
If you go …
WHAT: “How I See Myself” art exhibit
WHEN: Continues through Jan. 8; hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday
WHERE: Umpqua Valley Arts Center, 1624 W. Harvard Ave., Roseburg
COST: Admission is free.
INFORMATION: 672-2532
WHEN: Continues through Jan. 8; hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday
WHERE: Umpqua Valley Arts Center, 1624 W. Harvard Ave., Roseburg
COST: Admission is free.
INFORMATION: 672-2532
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ENLARGE
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Roseburg artist Vicki Cooper displays a self portrait last week at the Unpqua Valley Arts Center.
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Creating a self-portrait is like looking into a soul, according to Roseburg resident Valerian K.A. Perrin.
The artist admitted it's nerve-wracking to have people study the images she created of herself — especially since she doesn't like to show her drawings to anyone.
Exposing images of oneself is part of the challenge of self-portraiture, according to artist and exhibit judge J. Lynn Peterson of Roseburg. Peterson helped bring 40 self-portraits from Oregon artists to be part of the “How I See Myself” exhibit, which opened Friday at the Umpqua Valley Arts Center.
Perrin, 21, was able to enjoy being part of her first opening at the center. She described the experience as good, even though she never thought her work would be admitted. She entered more for fun, she said, hoping to make more out of her lifelong hobby. But two of her pieces were accepted into the exhibit. She was so pleased she posed beside them for photos with her friends.
“Self-portrait is a difficult subject,” Peterson said. “The amazing thing is the artists stepped up to the challenge. I know most of the artists (in the community) have never dealt with it before, yet we had 100 entries. That is good news; we may be helping the community grow and expand when they accept the challenge.”
Peterson was part of a six-member panel that narrowed the entries down from 100 to 40. It was open to artists throughout Oregon and had a unique system of judging, she said. Each piece was rated in categories on a 1-4 scale. The pieces with the highest scores made it into the showroom. “Everyone went ahead and voted for their own piece,” Peterson said with a laugh.
Peterson also had two portraits in the exhibit, one in black and white and the other made with a bright red color. Her obsession with red is new, she said, as she was dressed in a similarly colored hat and outfit for the opening. Her portrait, however, is much more than just eye-catching; it is filled with symbols of her struggle.
“It is a statement about cancer, since that is what I have,” Peterson said. “The red is the cancer. There is a lot of symbolism — the human hand has been used in art since the cave painting days to say ‘I was here,' the little whirligig, that's where my pace maker is, and the butterfly represents silence because I don't want to talk about cancer and no one else wants to hear about it.”
Peterson said she has had many works of art displayed before and was happy to show more of her personal side in this exhibit. She said she was pleased with the reception of the piece.
“Anytime you can create something that draws people to it, you have done something right,” she said.
Vicki Cooper also presented a colorful representation of herself that was placed prominently in the show.
“Usually I have the quiet back corner,” Cooper said. “(But) today, people were stopping me in the parking lot saying, ‘You are going to like where your picture is!'”
Cooper said she had never exhibited in a self-portrait show, but enjoyed the challenge. She has been a watercolor artist since the 1980s, when she took a life-changing watercolors class at Umpqua Community College, she said. She gives the local art community credit for having so many outlets for artists.
Former arts center Director Shawn Ramsey-Watson and Gallery Manager Aleta McGee said they were pleased with the show's opening, which Ramsey-Watson estimated brought in about 100 people.
“It is interesting to see how people see themselves,” Ramsey-Watson said. “It is a very bold expression to externalize what you internalize so much.”
Some were provocative while others were humorous, she said. Overall she said, people took a very hard subject and created really interesting art out of it.
In addition to the self-portrait exhibit, the arts center also features its gift gallery, Santa's Unique Boutique, a watercolor show by students and Bill Mehlhoff, and a fine art photography exhibit by Marico Fayre.
Fayre had a self-portrait photograph in the main exhibit, but extended the theme to her show, titled “Memory and Metaphor.” The abstract photos of herself mix in with her art and landscape shots. They were difficult, she said, as she was the director, model, editor and photographer. She didn't have anyone to blame, she said with a laugh, if things went wrong.
“For me,” Fayre said. “It was a whole lot of self-portraits.”
• You can reach reporter Heather Morse at 957-4208 or by e-mail at hmorse@nrtoday.com.
The artist admitted it's nerve-wracking to have people study the images she created of herself — especially since she doesn't like to show her drawings to anyone.
Exposing images of oneself is part of the challenge of self-portraiture, according to artist and exhibit judge J. Lynn Peterson of Roseburg. Peterson helped bring 40 self-portraits from Oregon artists to be part of the “How I See Myself” exhibit, which opened Friday at the Umpqua Valley Arts Center.
Perrin, 21, was able to enjoy being part of her first opening at the center. She described the experience as good, even though she never thought her work would be admitted. She entered more for fun, she said, hoping to make more out of her lifelong hobby. But two of her pieces were accepted into the exhibit. She was so pleased she posed beside them for photos with her friends.
“Self-portrait is a difficult subject,” Peterson said. “The amazing thing is the artists stepped up to the challenge. I know most of the artists (in the community) have never dealt with it before, yet we had 100 entries. That is good news; we may be helping the community grow and expand when they accept the challenge.”
Peterson was part of a six-member panel that narrowed the entries down from 100 to 40. It was open to artists throughout Oregon and had a unique system of judging, she said. Each piece was rated in categories on a 1-4 scale. The pieces with the highest scores made it into the showroom. “Everyone went ahead and voted for their own piece,” Peterson said with a laugh.
Peterson also had two portraits in the exhibit, one in black and white and the other made with a bright red color. Her obsession with red is new, she said, as she was dressed in a similarly colored hat and outfit for the opening. Her portrait, however, is much more than just eye-catching; it is filled with symbols of her struggle.
“It is a statement about cancer, since that is what I have,” Peterson said. “The red is the cancer. There is a lot of symbolism — the human hand has been used in art since the cave painting days to say ‘I was here,' the little whirligig, that's where my pace maker is, and the butterfly represents silence because I don't want to talk about cancer and no one else wants to hear about it.”
Peterson said she has had many works of art displayed before and was happy to show more of her personal side in this exhibit. She said she was pleased with the reception of the piece.
“Anytime you can create something that draws people to it, you have done something right,” she said.
Vicki Cooper also presented a colorful representation of herself that was placed prominently in the show.
“Usually I have the quiet back corner,” Cooper said. “(But) today, people were stopping me in the parking lot saying, ‘You are going to like where your picture is!'”
Cooper said she had never exhibited in a self-portrait show, but enjoyed the challenge. She has been a watercolor artist since the 1980s, when she took a life-changing watercolors class at Umpqua Community College, she said. She gives the local art community credit for having so many outlets for artists.
Former arts center Director Shawn Ramsey-Watson and Gallery Manager Aleta McGee said they were pleased with the show's opening, which Ramsey-Watson estimated brought in about 100 people.
“It is interesting to see how people see themselves,” Ramsey-Watson said. “It is a very bold expression to externalize what you internalize so much.”
Some were provocative while others were humorous, she said. Overall she said, people took a very hard subject and created really interesting art out of it.
In addition to the self-portrait exhibit, the arts center also features its gift gallery, Santa's Unique Boutique, a watercolor show by students and Bill Mehlhoff, and a fine art photography exhibit by Marico Fayre.
Fayre had a self-portrait photograph in the main exhibit, but extended the theme to her show, titled “Memory and Metaphor.” The abstract photos of herself mix in with her art and landscape shots. They were difficult, she said, as she was the director, model, editor and photographer. She didn't have anyone to blame, she said with a laugh, if things went wrong.
“For me,” Fayre said. “It was a whole lot of self-portraits.”
• You can reach reporter Heather Morse at 957-4208 or by e-mail at hmorse@nrtoday.com.
