Fresh Start for Two Local Artists
By Mandy Marksteiner
On November 19th from 5-7 pm, two artists who will be welcomed into Karen Wray Fine Art Gallery at their holiday open house and reception. Their work couldn’t be more different: Janice Parker Muir paints landscapes that transport the viewer to a peaceful place and Pat Soran is a master woodworker who makes wooden vases and jewelry boxes. But they do have one thing in common… they’re both reinventing themselves.
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| Pat Soran sitting at a desk that he made |
Pat Soran is a retired nuclear engineer who has found a new side to himself through woodworking. He said, “Though I am an engineer at heart, I find that designing graceful, creative wooden objects has brought out a new side of me that I did not know existed.”
He first became interested in woodworking many years ago when he needed a relaxing hobby to help him unwind from his stressful job. He made furniture for his family. When his daughter got married he fashioned a bed as a wedding gift, and later made a rocking cradle when the couple had their first baby.
After retirement he brought his woodworking to a more artistic level by applying to a two-year woodworking course at the Northwestern Woodworking Studio in Portland, Oregon. Gary Rogowski, a regular contributor to Fine Woodworking magazine, taught the course. “It really opened my eyes to the artistic side of woodworking,” said Soran. “We were encouraged to see the lines and angles of the product and to stretch our imaginations to the beauty of the finished product.”
Upon completing the course, Soran became an accredited Master Woodworker.
Being a part of an art gallery is like being in a whole new world. “It’s interesting to be in the same room with well known artists like Sec Sandoval, Janice Parker Muir, Richard Swenson and Karen Wray. I like it!”
“I’m pleased that Karen is going to carry my pastels,” said Janice Parker Muir, who is well known for her landscapes in oils, pastels and acrylics. “It’s motivational for me because I’m going through a major transition phase in my life.”
Even though the Muir’s fresh start is a result of events that were out of her control, she is open to the next stage of her artistic career.
Last year Janice’s studio was flooded four times and her rotator cuff surgery was unsuccessful, which means she will now have to overcome physical limitations to create art.
“The way I’ve done art in the past – I can’t do it anymore,” she said. “I’m not sure where I’m going from here, as far as my style. I have to remain true to my emotional connection to the environment, the sky and nature. That’s still part of who I am. I’m just not sure what it’s going to look like.”
She plans to get back into the studio on the first of the year. “The new year will truly be a new start.”
The community is invited to see Muir’s original pastels and Soran’s sculpted wooden boxes and vessels at the Holiday Open House from 5-7 pm on November 19th at Karen Wray Fine Art Gallery, 2101 Trinity Drive, Suite B-2.
There will also be exciting door prizes, refreshments and new artwork with lower prices for gift giving by Secundino Sandoval, David A. Trujillo, Richard Swenson, Melissa Bartlett, Sue Ellen Hains, Lene Bryson, Bhasweti Gewhas, and Karen Wray. The Exhibit will continue through February.
