The nugget., May 11, 2016, Page 19, Image 19

Wednesday, May 11, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
ALLEN: Interim will be
in Sisters part-time
working with council
Continued from page 1
photo by erin borla
Students paint in Clay Warburton’s signature style.
Students try hands
at portraiture
By Erin Borla
Correspondent
“It’s my favorite day of
the year,” said fourth-grade
teacher Clay Warburton, as
he observed his class of stu-
dents painting their abstract
portraits all laid out across the
floor of the elementary school
commons.
Each of his fourth-graders
worked on portraits through-
out the last several weeks.
Most drew themselves three
or four times, some as many
as seven, in different ways.
The students started practic-
ing the project on a smaller
scale using a photograph and
drawing portraits in different
media.
It’s my favorite
day of the year.
— Clay Warburton
They took the black-and-
white photo and identified
specific lines and features on
their own face. Those fea-
tures were then transitioned
to large-scale outlines on
heavy black paper approxi-
mately 3 feet by 3 feet. The
outlines each student created
made large areas perfect for
filling in with bright colors of
paint. Students were encour-
aged to use colors that were
not realistic.
“We are trying to express
ourselves,” said student Jake
Beutler. “The pictures don’t
look exactly like us, we want
to mix it up. On mine, if you
close your eyes, (then open
them) then look at my picture,
your eye is drawn to the light-
est point – something I want
to draw attention to.”
Some students chose col-
ors because they liked the
“cool” color palette; while
others preferred simple col-
ors like red, orange, blue and
green, so they could blend
them and create new colors.
“I love that they experi-
ment with color,” said
Warburton.
“Warm colors are my
favorite,” says Brooke
Blakelock. “I’m a warm-
colored girl – I love wearing
neon!”
Throughout the 2-hour
process last Friday, a mix
of upbeat music played
in the background while
the students worked inde-
pendently on their own
portrait.
Parent volunteers were on
hand to assist as well. As they
finished their painting they
were allowed to help others
with certain aspects of each
piece.
“My favorite part of the
project is blending (the col-
ors),” says Teague Wessell. “I
liked going from warm colors
to cool colors on my head. I’ll
probably paint again some-
time in my life.”
Warburton himself is
a painter, and his work in
acrylic can be seen through-
out town including Three
Creeks Brewing Company
and other locations.
The paintings the stu-
dents do reflect the teach-
er ’s signature style of
bright colors on a dark
background.
“This is a special time in
their lives,” said Warburton.
“I encourage them to enjoy
the process and listen to their
inner artist.”
The paintings will be hung
from the ceiling of the com-
mons at Sisters Elementary
School beginning the week of
May 2.
Sisters community mem-
bers are encouraged to stop
in and enjoy the pieces that
have been created, but need
to check in at the front office
first.
districts, city, and county
organizations.”
Allen’s skills include the
ability to work “with vari-
ous types of people toward
a shared vision and common
goal while bringing along
those not necessarily support-
ive.” When he began in La
Pine in 2010, Allen reported
that no one was serving out
their council terms. Now
everyone does.
“The city manager is
responsible for building
good group dynamics within
the staff and the council and
between the staff and the
council, the council and the
city, and the staff and the
city,” he said.
Community outreach
and extensive collabora-
tive ventures have included
working with national,
state, and country agencies
as well as foundations, col-
leges, and regional and rural
entities.
Allen has developed
and built from the ground
up, operated, and managed
various business projects
in Madras, providing him
with understanding of small-
business challenges and
their relationships with local
government.
During his interview on
Thursday, he identified the
role of an interim city man-
ager to be, first of all, getting
to know the council mem-
bers and helping them “move
along in the process” of re-
establishing a smooth-run-
ning organization and recruit-
ing a permanent city manager.
In order to rebuild rela-
tionships, Allen believes
people must be listened to,
so the existing issues can be
identified. He highlighted
communication issues as a
common source of difficulty.
Educating people is important
in settling disagreements.
“Disagreements grow
out of a lack of knowledge,”
Allen said. After a problem
has been identified, “we need
to figure out how to solve it
so that all parties are happy,”
he added.
Allen will be working
on a part-time basis. City
management staff felt they
have a good handle on the
day-to-day running of their
departments. Allen’s main
responsibilities will probably
photocourtesy Madras pioneer
Rick Allen.
entail working directly with
the council, team-building
and oversight with the staff,
taking the lead on some of
the major projects currently
on the drawing board, and
direct involvement in the
recruiting of a permanent city
manager.
Allen told councilors dur-
ing the interview, “Sisters is
a great place. Lots of places
would like to be you.”
He has been awarded the
Central Oregon Firefighter
of the Year, the Public Sector
Administrator of the Year
by Economic Development
for Central Oregon (EDCO),
and the Jefferson County
Community Champion of the
Year.
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Ronnica Westcott
Jenny Duey
Mary Morgan
541-588-6611
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19
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