Take a tour, visiting some of the “Portland Open Studios” as the experience expanded into outer East Portland neighborhoods for 2025 …
Lawn signs, like these, point the way to outer East Portland creators participating in this year’s Portland Open Studios event.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Organizers behind the 2025 Portland Open Studios “meet the maker tour”, held on two weekends in mid-October, say this year’s event was a great success – as, across the greater Portland area, 103 artists opened their studios to the public for a free behind-the-scenes look at the way they create art.
This year, Portland Open Studios included several artists in outer East Portland. Five of those artists opened their studios to East Portland News and talked about their work.
Monika Vitek
Foster-Powell
S.E. 76th Avenue
www.monikavitekceramics.com
www.instagram.com/monikavitekceramics/
Media: Ceramics | Jewelry | Mixed Media
In her studio, Monika Vitek puts a color layer on a teacup she’s created of ‘New Zealand Kaolin’ porcelain.
“I create functional pottery with porcelain,” said Monika Vitek of her primary work. “Much of my art is made on the potter’s wheel using a ‘New Zealand Kaolin’ porcelain from Washington State.”
She pointed out delicate dark speckles in her finished pottery. “Into the clay body, or the glaze, I add dark magnetic sand – magnetite – which shows up as a ‘vanilla bean’ effect.
All of the porcelain Monika Vitek creates has Oregon Coast magnetite embedded in it.
“I find this sand along the Oregon coast, particularly at the mouth of the Columbia River – like at Clatsop Beach and Warrenton – and in the central coast’s Otter Rock area,” Vitek told us. “One of my classmates used magnetite sand in ceramics 15 years ago, and I fell in love with the effect. And here I am, 15 years later, using it.”
Rio Wrenn
Montavilla
SE Stark Street
https://rawtextiles.com/
www.facebook.com/rio.wrenn/
https://www.instagram.com/rio_wrenn
https://www.instagram.com/rawtextiles
Fabric | Fiber | Mixed Media | Painting | Sculpture | Watercolor
Montavilla artist Rio Wrenn creates her pigments from minerals in her studio.
“I consider my main media to be textiles – using extracted the pigments from plants and minerals to create all of my work,” artist Rio Wrenn told East Portland News.
“I started doing this kind of art because do watercolors, but with textiles I am making them with minerals. I am extracting the pigments while doing my watercolors.
“I started with ‘rusting’, I while in college as a Sculpture Major, and I just fell in love with it,” remarked Wrenn.
Using the pigments she made, Rio Wrenn works on a small painting.
“Rusting”, we learned, is using the natural chemical process of iron oxidation or other techniques to create rust-like patinas or textures for aesthetic purposes.
Creating art, and teaching art technique workshops, both in her studio and abroad, is her profession – but Wrenn added that she also does custom fabric design and interior design sewing, and creates wedding dresses.
“I’ve been in this space since 2019, and I’m glad to be on the Portland Open Studio tour this year,” Wrenn declared.
Erica Gibson
Wilkes
NE 155th Avenue
www.ericagibson.com
www.instagram.com/ericagibsonart/
Media: Assemblage | Ceramics | Mixed Media | Sculpture | Wood
Staying busy in her studio, Erica Gibson paints a ceramic piece.
Busy in her home studio, east of Glendoveer, Erica Gibson was at work on projects when we arrived, and graciously stopped to talk.
“What I’m doing is ceramics, with ‘found object’ assemblage,” Gibson explained. “I go to garage sales and do thrifting, looking for old wood that has some character – and cigar boxes, metal lamp pieces, and old thumb pump oil cans – items that have charm and history to them! Then I create faces out of ceramic, and put them all together.”
Artist Erica Gibson shows how a ceramic “face” look when attached to a piece of wood.
Not yet retired, Gibson said she has a “day job” as a commercial graphic artist to pay the bills.
“But, here in my tranquil environment, I get to make the art that I want; it’s very peaceful and therapeutic for me to sit here, look at the beautiful view in my backyard, and create faces with winsome expressions.”
James Stugart
Hazelwood
SE 136th Avenue
www.jamesstugart.com/drawing.html
www.iceovation.com
www.instagram.com/iceovation/
Media: Woodless Graphite | Ice [yes, frozen water!]
Artist James Stugart will often spend more than a hundred hours creating graphite drawings.
Visiting with James Stugart at his home-based studio, it quickly became clear that much of is life revolves around making art.
“I just love drawing,” Stugart said with constrained enthusiasm. “When I went to college up in Alaska, I tried all sorts of media – from paintings to printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, and all that stuff. In the end graphite drawing is what I enjoyed the most.”
He was working on a drawing on an easel during our visit. “I consider my ‘art’ medium to be graphite drawings, usually using woodless pencils and mechanical pencils – and colored pencils with it as well – on vellum paper,” Stugart pointed out. “These drawings take about a hundred hours to create.”
In his walk-in freezer, ice sculptor James Stugart shows one of his perishable decorations.
His “day job” is also artistic – but, in it, he trades his delicate pencils for an electric chain saw and steel chisels. Taking us out to his garage, Stugart pointed out large machines that make the crystal-clear ice that he then carves into sculptures. In his driveway was a giant walk-in freezer where he keeps his “media” for his business, “Ice Ovation”.
“As you’ve likely guessed, my work is carving ice sculptures for caterers, company parties, company parties, weddings, anniversaries,” Stugart acknowledged. “At some events, I do ‘performance art’ — sculpting ice while guests watch!
“I like making ice sculptures, and I very much like making pencil drawings; and I’m glad I can show people my work, here in my studi, during ‘Open Studios’,” Stugart said.
Lea K. Tawd
Mill Park
SE Main Street
www.leaktawd.com
www.instagram.com/leaktawdartist
Mixed Media
Artist Lea Tawd busily paints during the Portland Open Studios tour.
Although she’s helped people as a Reiki practitioner “in different seasons in life”, Lea Tawd mentioned that currently she’s a full-time artist. “I consider myself a mixed media artist; I primarily paint in acrylic, on wood, or wood panels.”
Asked why she doesn’t work with paper or canvas, Tawd replied, “Oh gosh, a long time ago someone gave me some wood panels. I love the smoother surface, and the wood grain that I incorporate into my paintings – often as the ‘skin tone’ of my figures.
Eschewing canvas and paper, Lea Tawd says she prefers painting on wood.
“The best thing about being on the Portland Open Studios tour for me is that I love having people who are coming here to see my work. They come here with insightful questions, which leads to meaningful conversations with visitors.”
That wraps up our Portland Open Studios tour this year. Look for it to return for two weekends in October, 2026. For more information, see their website: CLICK HERE.
© 2025 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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