Opposites interact in Carolyn Hopkins' disturbing pieces in Bullseye's spacious gallery in the Pearl District. Male/female, tame/untamed, wild/familiar. "Float, Fly" shows a bleached caribou skull and antlers floating on a black sheet of glass, suggesting, perhaps, the animal's immersion in a pool of oil.
Look closer. Nestled in one of the antler's crooks is a bird's nest. A mockingbird's nest, to be exact. The caribou seems caught by its changing environment while the opportunistic mockingbird finds a way to adapt.
The wild and familiar clash in "Cascade." Hopkins, who works at Pacific Northwest College of Art, suspends a fabric dog over a pheasant. Red "guts" spew from the dog's stomach and "blood" drips in a string of glass beads to a pool on the ground. Again, look closer. Instead of fur covering the dog, Hopkins uses home décor fabric, such as you might see covering a chair or sofa, a jarring juxtaposition with the grisly hunting scene.
Emily Nachison, head of the fibers department at Oregon College of Art and Craft, uses glass, metal and horsehair to comment on mythology, the natural world and pop culture.
Glittering clam and scallop shells line up in a row. Inside are intricate scenes made from jewelry chain, electro-plated plastic leaves and natural and artificial crystals. Another piece is an oversize black necklace with punk rock obsidian glass studs and horsehair, a kind of punk necklace.
Susan Harlan, who teaches painting at Portland State University, transfers painting and stenciling gestures to multi-layered fused glass squares. Patterns repeat in different colors and positions on high-gloss glass (fired at high temperatures) and flat, sandier finishes (lower temperatures).
She also incorporates leaves and photographic images into an energetic mesh of imagery.
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