Nature through a native's eye

Salem plays host to Joe Feddersen's traveling art show "Vital Signs." Willamette University Professor Rebecca Dobkins organized this exhibition of 62 works, drawn from public and private collections throughout the country, that is on display at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art through March 28.

Feddersen, a Native American artist from the eastern Washington Colville tribe, explores the interrelationship between urban place markers and indigenous landscapes in his show. This exploration is manifested in his prints, woven baskets and blown glass vessels.

Mediums range from expressionistic to modern, a range which is at heart the theme of this exhibit.

Admission to the Hallie Ford Museum, 700 State St., is $3 for adults, and $2 for seniors and student. Tuesday is admission-free day.

A forgotten formality?

Though letter writing has been trumped by e-mail, texting and other technology, artistic writing is still a practiced art form. Move over fonts, Keizer Art Association offers two calligraphy classes in February taught by calligrapher and designer Sandi Cormier.

On Feb. 10, they presents "Fanciful Letters." Participants in this class, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., learn how to draw monoline Roman capitals, add weight and turn them into Versals. This creative class also teaches swash caps, uncials, italic lower case and cursive caps. Overlaying, embellishments and color are incorporated as well. "Fanciful Letters" costs $20.

KAA offers a two part class on Feb. 17 and 24 entitled, "Legend Calligraphy." In this workshop Cormier teaches the Middle East-inspired Legend alphabet, which has small body height and very tall ascenders and descenders. The class starts from scratch by drawing lines, talking about proportion, learning the lowercase letters then moving on to the upppercase version.

These inked alphabets can be used on greeting cards, notes, poetry, and framed art. "Legend Calligraphy" also held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. costs $40.

For more information on these or other art class, go to www.keizerarts.org.

A woman's perspective

Downtown's Cafe Noir welcomes four artists to exhibit a show that focuses of flora and fauna. Representing an array of mediums, Northwest artists Melinda Dalke, Dani Mouser, Jami Moffett, and Dayna Collins comprise the "Four Fabulous Females" exhibit during February.

Dalke is a style artist who usually includes animals in her work. Her natural subjects are usually composed in acrylic and watercolor paintings. Mouser is a Dallas based photographer. Jami Moffett, on the other hand, creates collage like mixed media art. Collins' art represents all of the above media, in her collection of paintings, mixed media, and assemblage art.

All four female artists will be present at the show's reception scheduled Feb. 6 at 6 p.m.