Deb Stoner, A Closer Look

April 7th, 2023 – May 26th, 2023
Opening Reception: April 7th, 2023 6-8pm

PUSHDOT STUDIO
2505 SE 11th Avenue, Suite 104
in the Ford Building, enter on Division Street
Portland, OR 97202
503.224.5925
www.pushdotstudio.com
Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri. 8:30am to 5:00pm, free admission

Deb Stoner is an American artist, born in 1957. Deb received a BS in Geology from University of California at Davis, and her MFA from San Diego State University. She taught jewelry and metalsmithing classes at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon for over twenty years, and is known for creating innovative approaches to making handmade eyewear through material and design research. She taught over fifty workshops on these techniques at craft-based schools and universities, and lectured widely at symposia and conferences. Deb served on the Board of Trustees at the Haystack School from 2001-2010.

Deb’s work in photography followed similar craft informed investigations that continue to yield innovative work. From early work in black and white in the 1970’s through experimental work in graduate school and while teaching at OCAC, Deb’s radar always included a lookout for darkroom access. While learning about wet plate techniques, a chance demo on the use of a flatbed scanner to create digital negatives caught her imagination, leading to an obsession with making complex still life images of the flora and tiny fauna of the gardens in her neighborhood. A recent commission by the Oregon State Treasury Resiliency Building brought her curiosity to investigate the endangered Fender’s Blue Butterfly with its nectar and food sources. And although her commission to wrap the exterior of a building, the Palos Verdes Art Center, resulted in the very largest scale work she’s ever done, most people’s introduction to Deb’s work is on their way through the Portland International Airport whose permanent collection includes twelve of her works from “A Year in the Willamette Valley”.