MAY 3, 2018 // 11
COURTESY ANGELITA SURMON
COURTESY MARK GORDON
Blown glass by Mark Gordon
“Morning Light Returns” by Angelita Surmon
a position as an artist in the Bend gallery
Glass Dancing, and has continued to come
back every so often as a guest artist for the
event he used to staff as a sales clerk.
“It’s neat continuation. People who
knew me when I couldn’t blow glass to
now … they get to see me actually making
something out of it,” Gordon said. “Cannon
Beach is kind of my second home. It’s al-
ways been about supporting Icefire studio.
If I can help that place grow that gave me
my start, I’m happy to help.”
‘Look at things close up’
COURTESY MARK GORDON
Artist Mark Gordon makes works of fused glass.
COURTESY ANGELITA SURMON
Angelita Surmon is a Portland-based artist.
INFO BOX
COURTESY DEBORAH DEWIT
“Signs of Spring” by Deborah DeWit
“Your face is in the wind. From my
house, we literally look west over the bay
and the ocean. The weather is constantly
coming our way,” DeWit said. “There’s
something humbling about always being in
the presence of the natural phenomenon.”
Glassworks
For Bend-based artist Mark Gordon,
inspiration is deeply rooted within the walls
of Icefire Glassworks — the place that
inspired his love for glass in the first place.
At Spring Unveiling, Gordon will add to
his already consistent showing of colorful,
abstract glassworks found in Cannon Beach
What: Spring Unveiling Arts Festival
When: Friday, May 4, through Sunday, May 6
Where: Locations throughout Cannon Beach
Who: More than 30 artists will unveil new works at 15 galleries. Twenty restau-
rants will serve menu items inspired by new works presented at the festival.
Demonstrations and unveilings will be held between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday
and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Receptions will be held at various
galleries between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday.
— a reality he never would have dreamed
of when he responded to a newspaper ad
for a job at the gallery 15 years ago.
“I just needed some work in my early
20s. I had just moved to the beach, needed
something to do,” Gordon said. “I think I
was supposed to sell art. I had never sold
art in my life.”
But as he worked he became increasing-
ly fascinated with glassblowing. Gallery
owners Jim Kingwell and Suzanne Kind-
land started to show him the ropes, teaching
him basics about styling and shaping glass.
For six years he stayed, honing his craft in
Portland art classes in his off time.
After a short break in 2009, Gordon got
While some artists have cultivated a
long relationship with the coast, others,
like Angelita Surmon, will be presenting at
Spring Unveiling for the first time.
A Portland-based artist, Surmon likes to
explore the way light is perceived through
various media, like watercolor and glass.
“I focus on the landscape close up, so
it’s more abstracted,” Surmon said. “Quali-
ty of light in landscape is so important.”
Surmon will be presenting a type of
layered, abstract glasswork that requires
multiple firings to create. When held up to
the light, it presents as if someone painted
the design upon the surface. In reality, each
line, dot and stroke is made of 2 millime-
ter-wide glass pieces, bent and molded with
intention.
In her first year, Surmon hopes to show
art enthusiasts a different way of express-
ing, and appreciating, the landscapes
around them.
“Here, there are so many grand vistas,
but there are all these little places and
details that are grand in their own way,” she
said. “I would invite the viewer to look at
things close up, like you were a child.” CW