In the Woods and Wetlands

Exhibition Details

“City noises fade in the distance, and a quiet calm comes over me as I walk through the woods and wetlands near my home. A woodpecker drums on a hollow tree, squirrels and small birds make rustling sounds in the brush, a heron stands motionless in the marsh, and dragonflies hover just above the water’s surface. I listen, watch, and wonder.”

The work in this exhibit is inspired by Sarah Ferguson’s experiences on these walks: animal activity especially birds, the plant forms and patterns of leaves, flowers, and seed pods, and the animal architecture of webs, nests, and insect trails. The stories that emerge are told through the mediums of collage, and sculpture.

To make the collages, Ferguson paints and hand-prints papers, and makes rubbings of plant material and insect altered surfaces. The papers are then cut into shapes, placed on a background, layered, and glued into place as the composition comes together. The sculptures begin as sketches, and experiments combining different materials. The finished sculptures are created with wood, metal, and found objects.

Artist Bio

Sarah Ferguson is a visual artist who lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Her artwork has been exhibited throughout Oregon and the western U.S., in juried group and solo exhibitions. As a teaching artist for 24 years with Young Audiences, and The Right Brain Initiative, she inspired children to collaboratively design and create art for over 120 permanent murals and installations in their schools. Ferguson has been awarded grants through the Regional Arts and Culture Council, for Community Art and Art in Education projects, and Professional Development. She has partnered with organizations and other artists to build community through art, with the Listos Program at OCHA, Multnomah County Libraries, The Wetlands Conservancy, and Providence Health Systems. She was part of a bilingual Spanish and English storytelling group with puppets and live music that performed in libraries throughout northwest Oregon. She studied drawing, painting, and printmaking at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD) in Toronto, Canada, and completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with distinction at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now CCA) in Oakland, California.