Metolius Cabin Cruiser on A Stroll

The Miss Dotty series began as collaboration between two artists, one with a paintbrush and paper and the other with fabric and thread.  Like any good story, the idea for the series began with the introduction of the characters and the place.

We knew from the start that we wanted to feature life in and around our central Oregon homes in Sisters and Camp Sherman.  Once Miss Dotty and her dog Yello made their appearance in the Sisters Farmers Market Scene we knew they would be the central characters.

Kathy’s painting shows the river flowing by a series of little river cabins that line the banks of the Metolius in Camp Sherman.  A fisherman and his dog walk the path to the next famous trout-fishing hole—notice he doesn’t have a creel, as it’s all catch and release on this stretch of water.  The big ponderosa pines tower over the scene filled with the checkerboard light of a sunny day.

Tonye’s quilt shows Miss Dotty’s little cabin on the Metolius River with the polka dot roof.  The cabin is full to the rafters with fabric and projects in every corner (Miss Dotty never saw a fabric that she didn’t like).  You’ll spot Yello poking his nose out the door when he hears her truck bumping down the Forest Service road coming back from the Camp Sherman Store.

Color! Texture! Color! Tonye and Kathy were destined to join together and share their love of color and whimsy. Lots of laughter and bouncing of ideas is common place between these two women. The charming mountain town of Sisters, Oregon and the nearby Metolius River with it’s unique landscape have offered a multitude of inspiration.
 
Tonye and Kathy have admired each others work for several years and finally decided to collaborate on a series of painted/quilted pieces featuring the local “color” and landscape. Kathy’s paintings have such a quilt like look and feel that Tonye actually found that she had fabrics that very closely matched the textures in Kathy’s paintings. The two mediums together are so unusual yet so complimentary. The whole collaborative idea grew from there in very exciting and fun ways.

Before teaming up with Kathy, Tonye had created a series of unique and graphic designs of her own and was working with good friends in China in the reproduction, by hand, of these pieces. Her friends Li Guohua and his wife, Wang of Yantai City, China have rallied their cousins and friends in a small remote village outside of the city to create Tonye’s designs. It is a very social event for the ladies and they are very happy to have such enjoyable work as any kind of work in the remote regions is difficult to come by. The pieces are then professionally framed (archival) by High Desert Gallery & Custom Framing of Central Oregon made available in our retail gallery and online at www.highdesertgallery.biz 

About The Miss Dotty Series:

Miss Dotty – A Fun Story

The Miss Dotty series began as collaboration between two artists, one with a paintbrush and paper and the other with fabric and thread.  The piece, “Coming Home” was created for the 2006 My Own Two Hands arts education fundraiser in Sisters. 

Kathy’s original painting of the view from her cabin on the Metolius River sparked Tonye’s idea for the little blue truck bouncing down the famous Camp Sherman red cinder road with a happy yellow pooch on board. 

The painting is filled with pattern.  Multi colored reeds line the river and the forest floor is filled with the spring green of the vine maples and round shapes of manzanita bushes.   Majestic red barked ponderosas rise up within the patterned backdrop of the forest with checkers of blue sky peeking through the branches. …It’s a magical place!

Tonye’s quilted image, designed to represent the road “coming home” to the cabin, repeats the shapes in the painting.  The dog, “Yello”, rides in the back of the old blue pickup with his ears flappin’ in the wind.

We both love this “first in the series” and remember the day we decided to work together—laughing about our common view of the world filled with color, pattern, and yellow dog hair!

Each Fine Art Giclee print is signed and numbered by Kathy Deggendorfer and a wonderful reproduction of the original watercolor.  Each quilted work by Tonye is signed and the two works of art are professionally framed by High Desert Gallery & Custom Framing of Central Oregon.  The Miss Dotty Series has five works in sets with each set limited to 25 prints/quilts.  After the Series sells out there will be no more sets produced of the same images.  Not only is the collaboration a wonderful addition to any home or office but it is also limited and potentially collectable. The Miss Dotty Series is available exclusively in Central Oregon from High Desert Gallery of Central Oregon and At this time we are not able to deliver or sell the work unframed..  For more information call 1-866-549-6250 or visit: Email High Desert Gallery.

About the Framing:  Each of the works are framed as a package and NOT as pictured in the description.  The wood moulding is a light to medium brown with gold accents on the rabbit (next to the glass).  We use exclusively UV conservation glass and acid free and archival double and triple mats with acid free hinge mounting.  The framing is professionally done and 100% archival.  If you would like to receive an image of our framing selection prior to your purchase please email us at  Email High Desert Gallery and we will forward you an image for your consideration.  If at any time you have questions please call us toll free at 1-866-549-6250.  The Miss Dotty Series can only be purchased framed and is available at High Desert Gallery & Custom Framing in Sisters Oregon.

About the Artists:

KATHY DEGGENDORFER lives on a cattle and hay ranch just outside of Sisters, Oregon. Inspired by the color, pattern and texture of her surroundings, she creates vibrant and colorful watercolor paintings. Whimsical images of flowers and ranch life fill the paintings with color and life. “Folks tell me they just feel happy when they look at my work-- that makes me happy.”
Raised in Portland, Oregon, in a clothing manufacturing family, she says , “Sewing skills skipped a generation with me... but I love fabric. I like to call my creations ‘Painters Quilts.’ I can prowl around the rounders full of prints at the Stitchin’ Post with the best of ‘em... I just put my fat
quarters down with a paintbrush.”
Kathy’s work is collected throughout the Pacific Northwest. Represented by High Desert Gallery in Sisters, she has pieces in the permanent collection at Redmond Airport, she wrote and illustrated a children’s book for St. Charles Medical Center, and her work has been translated into clothing and fabric for Columbia Sportswear.

TONYE BELINDA PHILLIPS lives in the tiny mountain community of Camp Sherman, Oregon. She creates her artistic pieces in a charming, rustic, historic cabin. Tonye Belinda has called Camp Sherman home for more than 34 years. She lives there with her husband and two teenage sons. They live a very active lifestyle enjoying skiing, snowboarding, climbing, hiking, biking, sailing and gardening. Tonye Belinda was born and raised in Portland where she learned the love of working with her hands from her mother, Marjorie Hood. From crewel embroidery, to sewing, to counted cross-stitch, to knitting and then in 1992 she fell in love with quilting. Tonye Belinda can also be found teaching an occasional quilting or knitting class at the Stitchin Post in Sisters, Oregon. Using 100% cotton materials from the United States and lots of saturated colors, all of her designs are quilted and appliquéd by hand. These pieces are carefully reproduced by artisan friends in the far east. Some of her individual designs can be seen and purchased at Twigs, Bedouin and The Sisters Movie House in Sisters, Oregon.