Featured artists at the Sunriver Artists’ Gallery are presenting new work that captures the essence of Spring in Full Bloom. Pull yourself out of the winter doldrums by visiting the gallery on May 10 for the Second Saturday Artist’s Reception. Join the artists for food and drinks from 4-7pm. Featured artists are Jeff Thompson, Lisa May, Gene Thomas and Kathleen Keliher.

Jeff Thompson, glass artist, captures the spirit of spring with his new series of sculptural vessels where three separate glass segments are melted into one whole vessel using the Italian process known as encalmo. This process results in clean, distinct lines. During the process, while the vessel is in the molten state, it is turned 90 degrees on its axis by attaching a new blowpipe. The vessel is elongated and expanded along this new axis to create the organic contours and pattern. Having immersed himself in the traditional techniques of Italian glassblowing, Thompson finds himself experimenting with his interpretations of the medium. His sculptures are a blend of contemporary, traditional and custom techniques. The artist was recently honored by OPB’s long running local TV production, Oregon Art Beat, in a special Portland exhibition celebrating the work of Northwest artists that have been featured.

The gallery is proud to add yet another talented artist to the group. Lisa May creates paper-layered art in a process that summarizes nature, with its infinite colors, textures, layers and components, into a minimum composition that tricks the viewer’s eye into seeing a full representation of the subject. Part of the process involves reinterpreting the depth of field that is seen as a limited range of focus by the human eye. It is difficult to describe May’s creations in print, but when you visit the gallery, you will be amazed and intrigued by the pieces. One of the challenges of May’s process is that the focal point of the piece is often the last part of the art addressed. Traditional sketching or painting involves starting with a rough outline of the whole piece and then adding detail to the image. In these layered paper pieces, the artist is usually finished with and committed to the entire background before the focal point is even started.

Gene Thomas, stained glass artist, is featuring new work that takes his skill into a more dimensional presentation. Breaking away from the more traditional format for stained glass, the artist has increased the movement in his pieces by releasing the glass pieces from the static confinement of the rectangle. Butterflies flutter among flowers and green leaves and curling vines in a perfect representation of Spring.

Kathleen Keliher, pastel and oil painting artist, continues to pay homage to the beauty of Central Oregon with her incredible plein air compositions. Keliher can often be seen along the rivers and trails during the summer and fall months creating small oil and pastel sketches to use as reference for her larger studio paintings. One of her new pieces, Summer  Fields, really provides the feeling of vista and air quality that draws so many visitors to this area.

57100 Beaver Dr., 541-593-2127 or 541-593-8274, www.artistsgallerysunriver.com.