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VISUAL ART Third Friday: 'Into the Woods' is a must-see Comment By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted May. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted May. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Visitors to Rogue Gallery & Art Center will feel they are entering a mysterious woodland blending the hyper-realist, modern and surreal as an exhibit called "Into the Woods" transforms the gallery space. Seattle-area artist Donna Leavitt is showing her exquisitely detailed, almost life-size graphite drawings of trees. Black bears, geese, owls, moss, seed pods and other flora and fauna take on magical qualities in Grants Pass artist Judy Weiner's paintings, which resemble illustrations of long-forgotten fables. Rounding out the exhibit, Terrebonne sculptor Lewis Meyers Jr. has pieced together wood, metal and shells to create sculpture that appears both man-made and natural. "Into the Woods" promises to be one of Medford's strongest art exhibits of the year — a must-see for art and nature lovers alike. The exhibit runs through June 19 at the gallery, located at 40 S. Bartlett St., in downtown Medford. The gallery will stay open and host an artists' reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday for the city's Third Friday Art Walk. Leavitt uses multiple pieces of paper to create each of her tree drawings. "Sentinel" — made up of 19 individual drawings on paper grouped together — depicts a sun-bleached tree denuded of leaves, its branches reaching in all directions. Leavitt painstakingly captures the details of wood grain, knots, holes and bark for each tree. The white sheets of paper and gray graphite lines and shading give each artwork a clean, modern feel unusual for hyper-realism. Leavitt began producing drawings that assemble into large artworks when she served in the Peace Corps in Macedonia from 2006 to 2008. "In my spare time I wanted to continue to produce art — but knew it would have to be small enough to go home in a suitcase," she says. Leavitt's drawings perfectly complement the play of light and dark in Weiner's nature paintings. An admirer of Dutch painter Rembrandt, Weiner creates canvasses that appear to glow. While some paintings focus completely on the wild, such as an image of a heron standing amid a swirl of branches, others combine the wild and the domestic. In "Brothers," a cougar is partially concealed by grasping branches, while a house cat is hidden among waving grass blades. Meyers' sculptures add to the effect that "Into the Woods" is an art installation, not just an exhibit. In "Half Again as Then Ago," leather laces strung with shells and curved slips of wood hang down from a massive piece of wood. Hand-sized orbs of wood showing intricate grain patterns are bolted to the sculpture. Rogue Gallery is also showing the colorful, heavily textured abstract paintings of Millie Clarke in a side space. For another taste of nature, Art du Jour Gallery, 213 E. Main St., is showcasing flower art made by members. The gallery will remain open until 8 p.m. for the Third Friday Art Walk. Prolific local artist Dodie Hamilton has several pieces on display, including white blooms in "Lilies from My Garden," a burgundy iris in "Mystic Beauty" and pink buds in "Magnolias." "My love of drawing began about as soon as I could hold a pencil, and painting as soon as I got hold of a brush," says Hamilton, who recently turned 95 and has produced more than 3,000 finished paintings. "In school, I sat in class and drew, much to the teachers' disapproval, as it really distracted the other students." Regular Art du Jour Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call 541-770-3190 or see www.artdujourgallery.com . Regular Rogue Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Call 541-772-8118 or see www.roguegallery.org . By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted May. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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