(Blue Pool | Photo by Steve Badger Tomolitch)

Great art picks up where nature begins!  Many of the 30 local Central Oregon Artists of Artists’ Gallery Sunriver are moved and inspired by nature.   Our featured photographer, Stephen Badger, is self-taught fifth generation Hawaiian who moved to the mainland USA as a small boy.  When he moved to Bend in 2010 he was inspired to photograph the beautiful landscapes of Oregon.  His passion for photography and the outdoors matched up perfectly with his college studies at Central Oregon Community College (COCC) where he naturally became the photo editor of the COCC college newspaper.  Stephen graduated from Oregon State University with a bachelor of science degree in natural resources.  This degree works with his love of the outdoors and desire to photograph the endless beauty of mother nature.  Let the magic of his photographs transport you to the beautiful natural world!

Metalsmith, Helen Sanderson, is greatly inspired by the western cowgirl with a hint of Native American culture… and sometimes a bit of boho hippiness as well!  Helen often uses natural American mined turquoise gemstones. Nature is a big part of Helen’s life.  She knows that the earth is very much alive and therefore her goal is to honor the rocks.  Because of this, she finds it important to recycle, reclaim and reuse and to source ethical gemstone and metal suppliers. “When I create my pieces, a great deal of passion and positive energy is carried into it.  My hope is to pass on a piece, a memento, that brings you a smile with joy.  A jewelry piece that can be passed on as a gift of art created with love!”

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