Gallery Guides Open House & Fused Glass Artist Talk WITH Nena Bement and Rinee Merritt 

Wednesday, August 14, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Are you someone that loves attending artists’ talks and learning more about the stories, practices, and people behind the art that you see? Did you know there’s a dedicated volunteer group called the Gallery Guides at SAA, who come together to learn about our exhibits and exhibiting artists and discuss how to share that great knowledge with our visitors? If this sounds like something you’d like to do, then come learn more about becoming a Gallery Guide at our Gallery Guides Open House & Fused Glass Artist Talk with Nena Bement and Rinee Merritt on Wednesday, August 14, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Bush Barn Art Center & Annex. This is a great opportunity to get involved in your local art scene and support SAA in the amazing work that we do!

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Nena Bement

I was born to a dad who loved to try things he had no idea how to do (well, let’s try it!) and a mom who considered fuchsia and chartreuse neutrals. When I was about 3 years old, I’d sit under my mom’s sewing machine with a huge needle threaded with yarn and I’d sew her fabric scraps together. This was to keep me busy after I’d cut the hair of all my dolls.

I grew up loving color, and still do. So, I quilt, knit, fuse glass and garden.

Rinee Merritt

As a retired Horticulturist, Master Gardener and Graphic Designer, I spend a lot of time thinking about and being inspired by the colors, shapes, and textures of nature in the Pacific Northwest. Having spent the last 8 years as a graphic designer for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and as a big fan of our neighboring state to the west, I am also very interested in sea life. 

It’s not all I try to visualize in glass but as a kiln formed glass artist even when I am making shiny glass hearts and tiny glass angels, I enjoy how the color, texture and light work with the alchemy of heat and glass to create magic. For me, there is no medium more mesmerizing or compelling. It has captured my attention for over 15 years. 

GALLERY GUIDES