Peny Wallace works on a lifecasting piece in her Mosier art studio. Wallace will be one of 40 participating artists in this year’s Gorge Artists Open Studio Tour next weekend, April 21-23.
MOSIER — Peny Wallace has been an artist and teacher in the Gorge for almost three decades, splitting her time between studio spaces in Mosier and California while also teaching art at various levels and institutions. You can check out her home studio during the Gorge Artists Open Studios Tour (GOAS) Friday through Sunday, April 21-23, where her paintings and ceramics will also be for sale.
Peny Wallace works on a lifecasting piece in her Mosier art studio. Wallace will be one of 40 participating artists in this year’s Gorge Artists Open Studio Tour next weekend, April 21-23.
Photo courtesy Peny Wallace
Primarily using acrylic paint and ceramic mediums, Wallace’s art has often been featured in local galleries and coffee shops in the Gorge. She has been an active teacher and board member for the art centers in Hood River and The Dalles, and continues to give her time teaching classes from mosaics to ceramics. She also enjoys doing live demonstrations for fellow artists and students. Recently retired, Wallace said she is feeling grateful to get back into painting and lifecasting, one of the clay work techniques she has explored in depth.
To explain lifecasting, Wallace said, “This medium takes alginate as an impression medium and creates a composition using the body. [The artist] makes a mold then pours a ‘Terre blanc’ medium in. After drying, [I sculpt the medium] to create a finished piece.”
She currently has lifecast installations at both Skyline and Celilo Hospitals.
Wallace is one of the artists who will welcome you into her home and studio, with a view of the Gorge and ceramics displayed on various tables. She joined Gorge Artists Open Studios about 15 years ago, identifying with their vision of the art scene in the Gorge.
Lifecasts by Peny Wallace.
Photo courtesy Peny Wallace
“I was with GAOS for about 6 years at the beginning, then got really busy in teaching and focused my time there,” she said. “In the early years I would have students in my class help me and other GAOS artists in their studios.” In Mosier, she has a view of the Gorge cliffs and the Columbia River, which she is looking forward to sharing along with her artwork and live demonstrations.
For newcomers to the tour, Wallace stressed the connection and community that the studio tours encourage. “My artwork is my home, my home is my artwork … I am inspired by the people I meet.”
Welcoming people into her creative space provides a great atmosphere for founding community and lasting friendships within the art world. But the social aspect of creativity is as important as the solitary aspect for Wallace; she is equally inspired by the people she meets as by introspection and spending time in the outdoors. Before starting an idea, she likes to go hiking or play in the water and indulge in the quiet, open spaces of the Gorge. Wallace’s lifelong passion for creating is all about perspective and reflection, calling creativity her own form of meditation just like her mother.
Peny Wallace will have art for sale in her Mosier studio.
Photo courtesy Peny Wallace
Wallace said her journey as an artist started at a very young age, finding joy in the smell of art stores and the shelves full of colorful supplies.
“Creativity has been part of my life since I can remember … My mother was a sculptor and her meditation and extra time was always spent creating something,” she said. “I would get up in the middle of the night and she would be at the table making something.”
Before long, Wallace was on track to study graphic illustrating in college, but realized she needed more freedom in her daily practice. “[I realized graphic illustrating] was way too confining for me and I wanted to be a lot more flexible,” she said. Wallace decided to get a degree in applied design and her Secondary Teaching Certificate from Oregon State College. She later earned her master’s in ceramics and art curriculum design after teaching at several different high schools and junior high schools, including The Dalles High School.
She originally came to the Gorge as a young girl with her family to enjoy the sports — from windsurfing to skiing, they would stay up late in hopes of snagging the most coveted camping spots and spend the day on the Columbia River or Mount Hood. After raising her own daughters and living elsewhere in adulthood, including Flagstaff, Ariz., Wallace moved back to the Gorge because she missed the water.
Peny Wallace will have art for sale in her Mosier studio.
Photo courtesy Peny Wallace
“I started looking for a place with a view,” Wallace said. Her affinity for geology inspired her to find a home near the Mosier cliffs. This has been one of her residences and art spaces for more than 20 years, splitting time between Oregon and California.
Her background in art and teaching gave her the chance to connect with people and share her passion, something she considers vital to her experience of the world.
“I love people, showing new creative techniques to others, and enjoy immensely watching minds and faces as creativity blooms,” Wallace said of her time teaching. She even helped create many of Oregon’s art education policies, shaping the way art is taught and valued in classrooms for years. Wallace also served for many years on Mosier’s city council as another way to share her vision in the Gorge.
People from all over attend the Gorge Artists Open Studio Tours to see the unique spaces and creative processes of local artists, such as Wallace’s lifecasting demonstration. When asked about her inspiration and mediums, she explained, “As I am casting a figure, lifecasting, I am composing my image for viewers to see an action of the body stopped in a moment of time, to look at something a viewer does not usually notice. And as I paint I try to create an honest way of looking at something, I always do try to leave a bit of curiosity and wonder so the viewer can put their own interpretation to the art piece.”
Peny Wallace will have art for sale in her Mosier studio.
Photo courtesy Peny Wallace
With 40 artists featured on the tour, visitors should plan for a busy day with beautiful sights and opportunities for artistic connection. Wallace hopes her art will inspire moments of reflection and remembrance, even shifting the perspective of the viewer.
“I hope visitors will appreciate the variety of artists in the Gorge and the wonderful space that inspires them,” Wallace said. “I think connecting with each artist, hearing their stories, and visiting galleries is most important … The deep artistic thought comes from the soul. So for visitors to really view and think about a piece of art in this way is an important perspective for the viewer and an honor to the artist.”
Wallace’s art is featured on her website, www.asherarts.org, or you can find her pieces in her home studio during GAOS, April 21-23. Tour maps are available around the Gorge, at The Dalles Art Center, or online at www.gorgeartists.org.
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