Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2016)
Abstract art comes to Alexander New gallery exhibition ‘Inner States’ features CCC teachers Mandee Schroer and Don Olsen STORY AND PHOTOS BY MATT R0WNIN6 4 Clackamas Print JANUARY 2 0 ,2 0 1 6 thedackamasorint.com Clackamas Community College welcomed a new exhibit to the Alexander Gallery on Jan. 13, “Inner States.” The show includes the work of Mandee Schroer and Don Olsen, two adjunct teachers at the college. “We’re really excited to have this opportunity for the student body to see their work this term,” said Kate Simmons, faculty member and Gallery Director at CCC. “This work focus largely on ideas of printmaking and works on paper.” Simmons said the artists felt like the ideas of physical process and working w ith a concept informed both of the bodies of work shown in “Inner States.” Schroer’s work is interested in “feelings of tension and mental awareness,” said Simmons. She uses abstract shapes to assign feeling and convey feelings through them. Schroer received a grant for framing her artworks. She also features a series of woodcuts in the same style as the framed prints. Woodcuts are often used as large stamps; the artist puts on ink and presses the cut onto a medium. Schroer viewed the woodcuts as “exercises in process,” said Simmons. Part of Schroer’s work was created at Caldera, a two week residency outside of three dimensional space. So, I used that space as interior space: as mental space,” Sisters, Ore. Schroer had special words for the water said Olsen. Simmons said, “He’s created this media prints she had produced while in composition, and he reproduces that central Oregon. “They were conceived down in Caldera com position continuously. He then as a means of me trying to interpret my goes into each one of those individual visual world, and how I am trying to come compositions and paints and draws on to terms with this internal conflict I have top to create more unique one-of-a-kind art objects.” with chaos and organization.” Olsen uses commentary directly in his Schroer’s pieces are meant to explore her inner world not just as a standalone work, using text. “Sometimes those bits representation, but as a continuation of of text are very random, sometime they have humor to them ,” said Simmons. each other, as a language. “I look at these as a visual vocabulary Olsen gave an analogy for his artwork. or a narrative. They’re put together to “The underlying vision is that I’m trying have a relationship with one other,” said to push the front of my windshield out, so that I can see w hat’s in that space.” Schroer. Her other works were created in Mexico said Olsen. He described th at he used a concept while on a trip with students. “Those were sort of a continuation of to work with to free up the workflow of these tangled pieces. These tangles are creating art. He soaked the papers in ink water, folded them and unfolded them, the way I internally feel. ” Don O lsen, who teaches digital and ran them through a press, among photography, also had words about other techniques. his work, a m ultitude of prints and “It’s a repetition to free in the end, multimedia work on paper. because I know what to do next,” Olsen “All the work is about this idea of said with a laugh. The Alexander Gallery’s show “Inner trying to create [a] space that on a two dimensional piece of paper you can create States” will be open through Feb. 5.
