Mark Cheney and Christian Flores Munoz are featured artists in a two week show
Mark Cheney and Christian Flores Munoz are featured artists in a two week show at the Yaquina Art Association Gallery in Nye Beach through April 29th. The gallery is located at 789 NW Beach Drive in Nye Beach and open from 11 am to 4 pm.
Moving to the Oregon Coast Mark Cheney began using small driftwood pieces to make birdhouses. They were fun, but not enough creativity was necessary to make them. One day he found a few pieces on the beach that fit together in the shape of a fish. That was very interesting! As he continued beach-combing Mark found more and more pieces of wood that had the “essence of fishiness” and his pieces became larger. He has since completed numerous pieces from five inches up to five feet long, often using jewelry wire with shells, agates and selected beads as eyes, and occasionally shells for fins. He calls his creations “Fish Sticks.” His latest work uses driftwood, stones and other objects in frames to create what he calls “Stix & Stones”, a three dimensional art form. After making some scarf necklaces for his four daughters last Christmas he also decided to try them out in the gift shop of the YAA Gallery in Nye Beach
As a member of the Executive Board of the Yaquina Art Association, Mark continues with his driftwood and stone art, does some hand-built clay work and explores various photographic opportunities, as well.
Before retiring from the title insurance business in 2007, the only artwork Mark had done was to make an occasional piece of jewelry from findings and a tumbled stone. He has had many magazine articles published and has completed an historical novel on the subject of the ancient Maya, his hobby, but had not done much visual art. His novel, Mark of the Jaguar was published in 2014.
Christian Flores-Munoz is from Guadalajara, Mexico. He moved to Newport in 1999.He has been involved in photography for more then 5 years. Christian has always been interested in art, but photography became his favorite. He was inspired by watching other local photographer’s work and of course the beautiful Oregon Coast. You can take a look at Christian’s work on his website at: www.christianfloresmunoz.com.
“Fish Stix” by Mark Cheney
“Rock Turtle” by Mark Cheney
