Steve Antell

"Aspens in Fog”
Silver gelatin print
Juror’s Award

Steve Antell works as a photographer in N.E. Oregon where he lives with his family. At age fifteen, he decided to spend more of his time photographing the outdoors and in the following ten years lived in Colorado and Yosemite, completed college, published a book, and traveled while pursuing an active lifestyle of climbing, skiing, guiding and teaching. The many visual memories and emotional experiences from this period strongly influenced his selection of photographic subjects, composition, and image presentation in subsequent years.

After completing a Masters and Ph.D. in Field Biology, Steve chose to open his own portrait/illustrative studio where he worked for 16 years. Today, his nature images show the viewer an intimate, captivating and complete
presence of the scene photographed. Steve recently sold his studio in order to have more opportunities to create his pictures and have more time with his family. His photographs have been collected by university and private parties.

My images are from western landscapes, which I began printing more than 35 years ago. The desire to create such pictures comes from emotions I have had while hiking, climbing, Nordic skiing and studying biology. I consider myself fortunate to have an endless supply of subject matter that can interest me, the desire and ability to create strong compositions and work the photographic medium to express myself. I work as a professional portrait photographer in La Grande, and I have a doctorate in Zoology.

Jaime Gustavson

“Untitled”
Oil on wood
Juror’s Award

Directly after high school I attended one year at the University of Anchorage Alaska. In 1997, I transferred to Eastern Oregon University, where I finished school with a Bachelors of Arts in Visual Arts and a minor in Secondary Education. I’ve taught 7 -12 Art at Union High School since 2001. My artwork has shown at the Nightengale Gallery, Pendleton Center for the Arts and Crossroads Gallery in Baker City. Painting has been a great part of my life. My growth via the process of painting, as well as the imagery I explore, is an essential element in my life.

Doug Kaigler

"Whole Man”
Bronze
Juror’s Award

Far Back...........
I recall sitting in the back seat of our 57 Olds
gazing out the window
marveling at the landscape and architecture rushing by
my heart beating to the rhythm of the radio
my father's head nodding ever so slightly
road markers appearing, disappearing and reappearing
a quick glance through the glass as another car passes by
our eyes meet

Years later........
Fresh from her mother's womb
that look in my daughter's eyes
she knew at birth
the connections, the rhythm

Today........
There are times in the studio
in the salvage yard or the river
my steps, my will, my intuition
they move together
appearing, disappearing and reappearing
I keep coming back with the hope of remembering more

Roberta Lavadour

"Artist's Books”
Hand-made books
Juror’s Award

I’ve always been captivated by the thought of making things from the
materials in my immediate environment and have always said that the best thing anyone ever did for me, in terms of my artistic development, was to push me out of the house on summer mornings when I was a kid, saying, “Find something to do until dinner time.”

I’ve made books since high school, learning by trial and error. Years later, I discovered that “book arts” was a recognized art form, and that artists had been making and exhibiting artist’s books for decades. My subsequent training has continued to be mainly independent investigation, augmented by intensive workshop study offered by various book arts programs and institutions.

Moving to the place I live now has had a profound effect on my work. We live in the foothills of the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon, and having an amazing array of natural materials available literally out my back door is a constant source of inspiration. Often, I am transported back to those long summer days spent exploring my surroundings when I was a kid. I don’t paint or draw - skills that are usually associated with making art—particularly well. But I do know what is beautiful and interesting to me. And when I come across those things, or have an extraordinary experience while working with handmade paper or a found object, I use my vocabulary of book structures and printing techniques to try to share that experience with others.

Glennis Phillips

"Cricket House”
Hand built clay
Juror’s Award

After a time of decay comes the turning point. The powerful light that has been banished returns… I Ching

My practice of art is a powerful, spiritual antidote for loss of center– a way of being and knowing– a way to work at self-transformation along a pathway of discovery of self and consciousness expansion, The practice is never finished nor left behind– what I once thought simple is more complex; the complex more simple. Mine is the journey toward the wholeness and unity of body and mind– if achieved only in snippets of time.