March 27-April 20

The Feature Area is relatively new to the Guardino Gallery. Situated in the front area where the frame shop used to be, the new Feature Area will host "Mini-shows" on a changing monthly basis. We will also be scheduling the Window as a showing area and a place for installations.

	IN THE FEATURE AREA: Pat Bognar is a photographer who views our city through a camera lens and on the back of a bicycle. In this show she adds another dimension: a pinhole camera. For the past year she has viewed the life of Portland through the tiny hole of a Zero Image handmade wooden pinhole camera. Since there is no viewfinder, or light meter, everything’s a big guess, which adds to the mystery of this magical process. Her experiences in using this camera to capture the life of Portland have led to many adventures. “It seems like every time I go out to photograph I attract attention, from curious onlookers to police and other security officials,” explains Bognar. “I hope people will continue to believe that my little wooden box is really a camera!”
	Jennifer Hill’s ceramic sculptures consider the most elemental of botanic forms: the seed. Her surfaces are textured and tattooed with information, providing an unlikely map of things to come. She thinks of the seed as a hardy, yet vulnerable time capsule, one that could be opened and altered prior to its appointed time. To quote Hill “Seeds interest me visually, and I find them an inspiration for texture, pattern and form. The sprouting bulb seems a still shot from a time-elapsed photo of germinating plant. Caught in mid-eruption, one can examine the dance of its growth. The quieter pods belie the fact that they are charged with energy, awaiting their moment.”
	IN THE WINDOW GALLERY: Vicky DeKrey creates “Faces” with collage and stitching. Her mixed media pieces are made with fabric and/or paper with drawing, appliqué, mono-print, machine or hand stitching, embroidery, gouache or pastels. Her work is designed to be viewed from both sides. Unlike conventional sewing there is no "right " or "wrong" side. By working on both sides simultaneously, she is attempting to show that there are two sides to every issue and more than two sides to every person. DeKrey explained that the two-sided approach came about accidentally because she is basically a fabric artist and most of her work involved stitching. As she worked on these "faces" she found she liked the backside as well as the front.