We feel lucky we get to live in Central Oregon. A quick decision was made to move to Bend over one weekend while visiting from Minneapolis. Neither of us knew anything about the town but after a couple of days of looking around, it was decided we’d move. Most of our decision was based on our gut feelings that it would be a good place to be an artist. All we had to do was look at the sky and the landscape beneath it. It’s a move we never regret.

It’s a move we never regret.

For people who haven’t visited Oregon, most people think of Portland and know that it rains a lot. But here in Bend, just east of the Cascade Mountains, the landscape quickly transitions from pine-forested foothills to a high-elevation desert. One side of the city is dotted with stately Ponderosa Pines which then give way to variegated brush and the sculpted look of twisting juniper trees. And just outside of town, the angles of the city’s grid end at the curves of manicured crop fields.

These fields, and the sky above them, have been the inspiration for some of our most meditative fiber paintings.

Fields and Hills, fiber with overstitching

These fields and the sky above them have been the inspiration for some of our most meditative fiber paintings. What always draws us to these landscapes is the way they beckon us to wander into our thoughts. The fields are rolling with long, stretched-out views that are interrupted only when the eye lands on a distant ridge. While we look over the expanse, we often find ourselves thinking about the people who have cultivated the fields. Did they learn their trade from their grandparents? Where will their harvests be sent, and what will be made from them? Then our imaginations start drifting like some of the curves in the rows. What did this land look like a thousand years ago? If we were to dig deep into the ground, what would we find? What kind of music do people think of when they see this field? The more time we have to look at the rows the more our thoughts expand, leading us to more and more questions.

Living in Bend, we drive past fields like this anytime we leave town. New questions always come to mind, inevitably igniting our imaginations. We enjoy the wandering, and appreciate not having to have the answers.

To see more fiber artwork click here.

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