The Trim/Vojdani Gallery at p:ear presents:

APRIL - MAY
Opening Reception: First Thursday, April 2, 6-9pm
On Display: April 2 – May 29, 2009
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Friday 10-1pm

Make No Little Plans - Works by p:ear youth and guest artist Ryan Birkland exploring the fluidity of human and natural form against the technical mapping of discarded blueprints.

This spring p:ear youth work with artist Ryan Birkland to transform unwanted blueprints into renewed forms of art. What were once precise diagrams and exact replicas of local building plans, now exists as pieces that portray the flexible nature of the human line and patterns found in natural forms. With the meticulous display of lines still visible beneath, the prints now portray emotion and unrehearsed strokes of paint. Full of color and unpredictability, Make No Little Plans exhibits work reminiscent of the physical anatomy as well as the freedom of human nature.

jUNE - JULY
Scenes From The Streets-Works by p:ear youth and guest artist Nathaniel Praska, exploring the beauty and emotional intensity of scenes from the streets of Northwest Portland.

Opening Reception: First Thursday, June 4, 6 - 9pm
On Display: June 4 – July 30, 2009
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Thursday 10 - 1pm
Location: 338 NW 6th Ave Portland OR 97209

Ryan Birkland is a Portland native and owner of Gallery Nineteen located in NW Portland. Birkland earned his Bachelors degree at George Fox University and spent eight years traveling through the United States Marine Corps. Though well known for his many styles and locally commissioned work, Birkland has been successful in the technique of reverse painting for many years. Often working with salvaged single pane glass windows and paint Birkland is now exploring other means of recycled materials. Make No Little Plans utilizes these abandoned works to exhibit them once again in a new light with an entirely different purpose.

p:ear youth are 15-24 year old homeless or transitional young people that attend the educational, artistic and recreational programs at p:ear. They work independently and with guest artists, working with available materials, to create work that is expressive, vibrant and sometimes healing.

Nathaniel Praska joins p:ear this June and July to exhibit work portraying scenes from the streets of northwest Portland. Having worked under Ken Roth and Eric Jacobsen, Praska is a local artist currently represented by the Attic Gallery. Trained to work primarily outdoors, Praska continues to do so depicting blossoming trees, familiar neighborhoods, and the streets of our community.

Praska brings the romantic ways of working en plein aire to the streets surrounding p:ear. Hurried strokes enable Praska to capture the emotional intensity of everyday scenes. By bringing paint and easels outdoors, p:ear youth are encouraged to look at the streets from a different perspective.