Hoffman Center for the Arts Gallery in August will feature monotype prints by Janet Brockway, ceramics by Mary Roberts, and encaustic and painted works by Elise Wagner.
In the last five years, Janet Brockway has reconnected with her artistic pursuits, after owning a retail store and raising a family, by working at Studio 6000 in Sisters, Oregon. This collection of work represents her current process of making monotype prints. Monotypes are created by using tools to apply ink to a hard surface and then transferred to the paper by running it through a press under pressure. Each is an individual art piece, hand pulled, and one of a kind. Previously, Brockway has worked with clay and made sculptural, hand built, figurative work. Her past work influences her present work in interesting ways—cutting shapes, and new marks making texture. For Brockway, it’s a wonder what can be discovered when making art. She observes things in her daily life that then later surface in her work: the shadows on the landscape, the rectangle that represents a road or plot of land. A response to an emotional experience becomes a visual image.
Mary Roberts is a ceramic artist living near Neahkahnie Beach on the north Oregon coast. Roberts uses fine white or coarse tan clay to create elegant and modern forms; each shaped to be firmly planted while the volumes are lifted—resulting in a feeling of solidity and optimism. After reaching a refined surface, Roberts applies finishing abstract marks to carry the eye around the form. She is most influenced by contemporary British and Scandinavian ceramics and modern Japanese textile design and ceramics. Roberts studied ceramics at the Oregon College of Art and Craft and the Multnomah Art Center, Portland, Oregon. She has also participated in workshops at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana and the Mendocino Art Center in Mendocino, California. Prior to having her own studio, she frequented the Hoffman Clay Studio where she has also volunteered. Roberts is a member of the Oregon Potters Association and is represented by the Riversea Gallery, Astoria Oregon.
Elise Wagner, a painter, printmaker, educator, and innovator, currently resides on the North Coast of Oregon in Astoria, having originally hailed from Jersey City, New Jersey. Wagner’s work seamlessly integrates her fascination with physics, astronomy, geology, cartography, and meteorology, exploring their connections to evolving technologies and the environment. Beyond her artistic endeavors, she is a dedicated educator, sought after internationally to teach and present encaustic painting and printmaking at conferences and institutions. Currently, Elise imparts her knowledge through semi-private workshops. In 2022, Elise embraced the North Coast of Oregon as her new home. This past June, Elise unveiled her newest body of work “Wonder Lands,” a twenty piece, self-proclaimed “love letter” to the Pacific Northwest at Imogen Gallery in Astoria.
We invite you to visit the Hoffman gallery August 1-31, Thursdays through Sundays, from 12-5 pm. An artists’ reception will be held 3-5 pm on Saturday, August 3, during which the artists will speak about their work and answer questions. The not-for-profit Hoffman Center for the Arts is located at 594 Laneda Avenue, Manzanita, Oregon.
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