((L-R) Photography by Holly Fischer; My World watercolor by Dianne Lay; Oregon Landscape 2, art glass by Cheryl Chapmanand; and beaded jewels by Emily McFadden)
“Art will never be able to exist without nature.”
~ Leonardo da Vinci
The abundance of nature around Sunriver and Central Oregon has a strong influence on the work of June’s featured artists at the Artists Gallery of Sunriver. Whether it’s the color of beads, Silly Dog Art Glass, moody watercolors or landscape photography, each is imbued with colors and images of nature in Spring.
Emily McFadden has been seeing earrings in everything since 2020 — in the wing of a butterfly, a colorful stack of dinner plates, the palette of a summer garden. A native Oregonian and Bend resident since 2014, Emily came to seed bead artistry with creativity already in her DNA. Her mother is a sculptor; her great aunt was a bead artist. Working in the fringe hours around homeschooling her two kids, she puts together delicate or bold patterns where color comes first and the design follows. “As soon as spring starts to round the bend,” she says, “I crave all the bright colors that come with spring and summer — this is when I start dreaming up the bright, happy designs that will help usher in the fresh new season.” That spirit of the season is exactly what you’ll find in her work, now at the gallery under her business name, The Fringed Hour.
Cheryl Chapman has worked with glass for over 30 years, the last 12 of them devoted to the demanding art of glass enamel painting. Chapman paints directly on the back of the glass, with each original piece going through as many as five kiln firings, resulting in richly colored images that are seen through the surface of the glass. Her subjects are a joyful reflection of the living creatures around us, from cats and dogs to rivers filled with fish, fields of foxes, curious owls, and most recently, birds. “I am always inspired by the flora and fauna around me,” Cheryl says. “Lately I’ve been trying to capture the grace of birds and the way they flit and flow through my garden.” Detailed patterns suggest bird feathers as each flies with a garden flower. Look for her artful lamps, and jewelry collaboration with metal artist Anton Yakushev.
Working in both photography and ceramics, Holly Fischer keeps the natural world as her constant subject. Her lens has taken her to Patagonia, where she photographed Mt. Fitz Roy in Argentina and the mountains of Torres del Paine in Chile, and this summer she heads to Tanzania to photograph the Great Migration. Closer to home, her photography captures the fleeting light and expansive landscape of Central Oregon. Her ceramics bring that same sensibility into form. Works from her Birch Series, now in the gallery, feature ceramic vessels inspired by the layered patterns and tones of aspen and birch trees, blending natural texture with refined, sculptural form.
For Dianne Lay painting is a calling. Her work captures the quiet poetry of ordinary moments and carries the memory of every place she has ever lived. The vast skies of her Nebraska childhood, the misty greens of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and now the high desert of Sunriver all find their way into her paintings. Working primarily wet-in-wet, she lets pigment, paper, water and light do their part — each piece a quiet balance of intention and surprise. In October 2025, Dianne was awarded signature status in the Watercolor Society of Oregon, a meaningful recognition of her dedication to the medium. She paints what moves her and invites viewers to find their own moment of stillness in the work.
Join us for Second Saturday on June 13 from 4-6pm to watch the artists demo their work process. Artists’ Gallery Sunriver is located in the Village at Sunriver.