“Mt. Hood” handmade glass by Christine Downs
“Glass is mesmerizing. Did you know it is not a solid? Scientifically it is considered a supercool liquid due to its unique crystalline structure. There is no other art medium like it. The combination of color & light alone is magical. Its depth and visual allure pulls us in, seduces & invites the sense of touch. We want to swim in it, to feel its warmth or coolness, to look at the world through it. When such visceral responses as these are experienced, I feel I have created a work of art.”
“Happy Mountain Scene” handmade glass by Christine Downs
“The beauty of Oregon, the western landscape, rivers, trees, ocean & my own backyard feed my aboriginal eye & fuel my creativity on a nearly daily basis.”
“After the Fire in the Columbia River Gorge” handmade glass by Christine Downs
“Rich pattern and simplicity of design is a dichotomy I strive to balance.”
“Misty Mountains” handmade glass plate by Christine Downs
“My work often entails cosmic, geometric, zoomorphic & vegetal symbols such as spirals, mandalas, leaves, and other universal symbols and elements of sacred geometry.”
“Using a variety of techniques, I add visual texture & richness to my works. Combining sheets of glass with glass powders and granules called frit, I often create patterns or images in the glass, removing glass granules as I draw. This “scraffito” technique’s results sometimes resemble monotype printmaking or wild gestural drawing.”
“Recently I have been using glass powder mixed in a gelatinous medium to actually draw lines or “paint” with a palette knife as one would with acrylic paint.
Another technique I employ is imbedding designs created by copper sheet or wire between two sheets of glass. The mass of the metal between the two sheets of glass introduces another element to the design: bubbles! Only partially controllable, bubbles add an airy lightness to many of my works.”
“After the Fire” diptych of Columbia Gorge Fire of 2017 handmade glass by Christine Downs
“My pieces are typically fired at least three times. I sometimes fire a piece, cut it up & re-fire the cut-up elements into a new design. I am always experimenting, in partnership with the glass for inspiration, and permission for what it will allow me to do. As they emerge still warm from the kiln, I sometimes embrace these beloved “artifacts” to my heart. My work is dear to me.”
Christine Downs, glass artist.
Christine taught at Portland State University, Graduate School of Education for many years, preparing candidates becoming special education teachers. She taught entry-level PSU Interpersonal Neurobiology courses, Learning & the Brain & co-taught Meditation & the Brain with Caverly Morgan, founder of Portland’s Peace in Schools. Christine Downs, MEd, teacher, artist, yoga and mindfulness practitioner, was a special education teacher for many years. Christine taught students identified as having social‐emotional, behavioral, and/or learning challenges.
Fairweather House and Gallery
612 Broadway St.
located in the Historic Gilbert Block Building
August 3-25 Exhibition
OUTSIDE INTERESTS featuring local painters and artisans hugely impressed with the wide-open, majestic vistas of the Pacific Northwest. Selected art, new original work, conveys nature’s shifting moods, with no human presence visible. Artists include Paul Brent, Melissa Jander, Sharon Kathleen Johnson, Bev Drew Kindley, Gretha Lindwood, and Ron Nicolaides.
Welcoming new artists: oil painter Vicky Combs-Snider and glass artist Christine Downs to the gallery.
“I’ve been having lots of fun in the studio, playing with some techniques I have not visited in a while. The collection I have made for OUTSIDE INTERESTS is representative of things I like to do. The miniatures are quite time consuming and glass, as the ray material is quite expensive,” writes glass artist Christine Downs.
“Atmospheric Changes” by glass artist Christine Downs
