Wednesday, November 8, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Oil paintings on display at library
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
Chris Nelson, co-owner of
the new Wildflower Studio in
Sisters, is the featured artist
for the Friends of the Sisters
Library art exhibit in the com-
puter room of the library for
the month of November.
Her warm rich oils of
landscapes, still life, song-
birds, and dogs also showcase
Nelson’s framing talents. She
moved to Sisters 15 years
ago from Minnesota, and had
been doing art framing at the
Clearwater Gallery since two
weeks after her arrival, before
opening Wildflower Studio.
Nelson was an art major
at St. Olaf’s College in her
native Minnesota.
“In college, (art) was the
thing that was easy,” Nelson
recalled. “I loved college.
Everything was fun.”
After graduating from
college, Nelson spent a year
in China teaching English.
She began framing when she
returned to Minnesota, as well
as getting married and having
her three boys.
“My dream was to become
a painter, and I stayed in a
field connected to painting,”
she explained.
My dream was to
become a painter,
and I stayed in a field
connected to painting.
— Chris Nelson
Looking for a new arts
community when leaving
Minnesota, Nelson and her
family drove through the
West, decided against Sun
Valley, and then discovered
Sisters one fall. The next
spring, they moved to Oregon.
“If you can move down
the street, you can move
across the country,” Nelson
said. “We just fit in Sisters.
It has felt that way ever since
we moved here … The boys
have grown up knowing the
outdoors.”
Nelson has found fun (or
made it) wherever she has
been. Right now, with her new
artist studio/gallery/framery
with business partner Wendy
Rickards, she is enjoying hav-
ing more time to just do what
she loves.
“There are things I want
to explore; like trying looser,
bigger oils. I have a little stu-
dio at home, too, so I can paint
either place. I love the light in
the new store,” Nelson added.
She had promised herself
that when her youngest son
graduated from high school,
it would be her time. He just
PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD
Artist and framer Chris Nelson stands in front of her depiction of aspen
trees in the fall.
started his freshman year at
Portland State University.
All of the pieces exhib-
ited at the library are for
sale. Most are original oils.
The small birds and the two
Labrador retrievers are giclee
prints on canvas. Nelson pre-
fers working in oils.
“I like the feel of oils. I
love the look of the old mas-
ters,” she said.
When her children were
small, oils were a logical
choice.
“You can come back to
them after stopping (for the
kids). I was able to be frugal
– not wasting paints.”
Nelson also has pieces
on display at Wildflower
Studio, 103 E. Hood Ave.,
Monday through Friday,
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday,
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday,
12 to 3 p.m.; and by appoint-
ment, 541-904-0673.
I like the feel of oils.
I love the look of the
old masters.
— Chris Nelson
The Central Oregon
Spinners and Weavers Guild
exhibit continues in the
library Community Room
through November.
BEYOND
ORDINARY
Hand-forged
architectural
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Come visit our
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7
Fire district offers
car-seat check-up
The Sisters-Camp
Sherman Rural Fire
Protection District will be
conducting a child car-seat
checkup event on Friday,
November 10, from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. The event will be
held at the fire station at
301 S. Elm St. in Sisters.
Nationally certified car-seat
technicians will check the
child’s seat for recalls, proper
fit in the vehicle, and proper
fit with the child. Caregivers
will then be assisted in
installing their child’s seat
properly. Please plan to bring
your child or children and
allow approximately 20 min-
utes for each seat.
According to the Centers
for Disease Control (CDC),
motor-vehicle injuries are
the leading cause of prevent-
able deaths and injuries to
children in the United States.
Correctly used child safety
seats can reduce the risk of
death by as much as 71 per-
cent. Most car seats are either
installed incorrectly, or do
not fit the child properly. All
children under 4 feet 9 inches
in height should ride in a car
seat, with a few exceptions.
This can include children up
to 8 years old.
For more information call
the Sisters-Camp Sherman
fire station at 541-549-0771.
.
Here’s Your Retirement
Countdown
If you want to enjoy a comfortable retirement lifestyle, you don’t
need to have been born rich or even to have earned scads of mon-
ey during your working years. But you do need to make the right
moves at the right time – which means you might want to start a
“retirement countdown” well before you draw your fi nal paycheck.
What might such a countdown look like? Here are a few ideas:
Ten years before retirement – At this stage of your career, you
might be at, or at least near, your peak earning capacity. At the same
time, your kids may have grown and left the home, and you might
even have paid off your mortgage. All these factors, taken together,
may mean that you can aff ord to “max out” on your IRA and your
401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan. And that’s
exactly what you should do, if you can, because these retirement ac-
counts off er tax benefi ts and the opportunity to spread your dollars
around a variety of investments.
Five years before retirement – Review your Social Security
statement to see how much you can expect to receive each month
at various ages. You can typically start collecting benefi ts as early
as 62, but your monthly checks will be signifi cantly larger if you
wait until your “full” retirement age, which will likely be 66 (and
a few months) or 67. Your payments will be bigger still if you can
aff ord to wait until 70, at which point your benefi ts reach their ceil-
ing. In any case, you’ll need to weigh several factors – your health,
your family history of longevity, your other sources of retirement
income – before deciding on when to start taking Social Security.
One to three years before retirement – To help increase your
income stream during retirement, you may want to convert some
– but likely not all – of your growth-oriented investments, such as
stocks and stock-based vehicles, into income-producing ones, such
as bonds. Keep in mind, though, that even during your retirement
years, you’ll still likely need your portfolio to provide you with
some growth potential to help keep you ahead of infl ation.
One year before retirement – Evaluate your retirement in-
come and expenses. It’s particularly important that you assess your
healthcare costs. Depending on your age at retirement, you may
be eligible for Medicare, but you will likely need to pay for some
supplemental coverage as well, so you will need to budget for this.
Also, as you get closer to your actual retirement date, you will
need to determine an appropriate withdrawal rate for your invest-
ments. How much should you take each year from your IRA,
401(k) and other retirement accounts? Th e answer depends on
many factors: the size of these accounts, your retirement lifestyle,
your projected longevity, whether you’ve started taking Social Se-
curity, whether your spouse is still working, and so on. A fi nancial
professional can help you determine an appropriate withdrawal
rate.
Th ese aren’t the only steps you need to take before retirement,
nor do they need to be taken in the precise order described above.
But they can be useful as guidelines for a retirement countdown
that can help ease your transition to the next phase of your life.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
541-549-9280 • Sisters Industrial Park
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