((L-R) Porcelain vases by Converse Fields; Indigenous, encaustic by Janice Rhodes; Autumn by John Runnels; High Desert Grassland, oil by Pamela Beaverson; and turned bowl by Ken Fisher)
With wars overseas, headlines full of shouting, and a nation that often feels exhausted by its own divisions, the Dry Canyon Arts Association’s (DCAA) newest exhibition, America the Beautiful, arrives not as propaganda or nostalgia, but as something steadier: a room full of artists celebrating what still matters. More than 200 works were submitted, but only a little over 100 could fit into the gallery space, requiring careful and inclusive curation.
Walking through the rooms, viewers encounter not one version of America, but many. Pamela Beaverson’s High Desert Grassland captures a doe and her fawn standing alert in tall Central Oregon grasses. Nearby, Janice Rhodes’ encaustic portrait Indigenous glows with layered wax and shadow, the seasoned woman’s face carrying the gravity of memory itself. John Runnels’ oil painting Autumn arrives in thick, muscular brushstrokes celebrating the textures and colors of fall.
Other artists honor craft traditions carried across generations. New DCAA member Converse Fields contributes high-fired porcelain ceramic vases in vivid greens and blues, their glazes, “Made to bring joy to those who interact with the art,” he says. Ken Fisher’s wood turned bowls draw inspiration from Southwestern and Indigenous basket patterns, their curved surfaces holding both precision and warmth.
For collagist Dina Rhoden the exhibition became a meditation on courage, honoring the two Revolutionary War captains in her family line. “Only about 30 percent of the colonists were in favor of separating from Britain,” she explained to Exhibition Committee Member, Laura Fouts. “I challenged myself to capture that bravery in a bold but colorful way.”
What art does best during uncertain times is slow us down long enough to see one another again. It helps us breathe together again. A painting cannot stop a war. A ceramic vase cannot fix politics. Art reminds us that a country isn’t only built from laws and arguments. It’s built from imagination, sacrifice, memory, land, craft, risk, beauty, and the stubborn human desire to make something worth passing on.
The America the Beautiful exhibition begins June 1st and continues through the month of July. Opening festivities will coincide with First Friday, June 5, between 5-8pm at the Dry Canyon Community Art Center at 415 SW Sixth St. in Redmond.