This November 19th, The Dundee Hotel is partnering with Dundee Wine Library and several Willamette Valley local artists to create a Friendsgiving to remember. The event will include a seated tasting that showcases the world-class wine of the area with varietals and vintages chosen specifically to pair with holiday themed bites hand-crafted by local chefs. In addition to the tasting, guests will be given the opportunity to check out the “art gallery” from the 2022 wine harvest and vote on their favorite pieces.
Join us for a special wine paired flight aimed at Thanksgiving appetizers
Good friends, good wine, so much to be grateful for!
Wine paired bites, beatufiul art, and a cozy fireplace to enjoy
“A harvest art gallery?” you might be asking. “What is that?” Well, good question! This year local artists were given the opportunity to sit amongst the vines and produce a work that represents their time in the fields and in the cellars. For two days, these artists lived and breathed all-things-wine. They listened to the wind blowing through the vines, and watched the colors of they sky change above them. They tasted the grapes grow riper by the moment, and smelled the oak barrels throughout the cellar. But what exactly inspired them? The best way to find out is to explore the gallery and see each artist’s creation for yourself!
Our Art Curator for The Dundee and Western Oregon University Professor, Paula Booth
Want to know more? Check out our interviews with the artists. Then read below for some inside information on the event from Paula Booth, the art curator for The Dundee Hotel.
Artist Greg working his craft in the vineyards during harvest
Interview with Paula Booth:
The Dundee (TD): What has been your role in the Thanksgiving Artists event?
Paula Booth (PB): I was not involved in the initial planning, but as curator for the hotel, I was thrilled at the idea of reworking the art in building two with new pieces created for the event! It has always been my vision that the space become a gallery-like space with changing artwork by local artists! This is the perfect way to start!
TD: Are these artists you personally know/have worked with? Or are these artists whose work you have seen in the area?
PB: Except for one artist that Jenna reached out to on her own, all these artists are professors and students at Western Oregon University, where I am a professor.
TD: What are some of the stories you have heard from the artists currently participating?
PB: Artists were somewhat reluctant at first because artists often get asked to do a lot for free! But after making the trip to Dundee, they have all felt incredibly spoiled by The Dundee and its staff (Jenna especially)! They have all had incredible experiences and have raved about the wineries and the beauty of the area. One Colleague, Dan Tankersly, even got up early to photograph the sunrise over one of the vineyards. He and others (Jodie Garrison, Greg Poulin and their painting students) have even asked if they might come back and make more art. It has been very inspiring for them to get out of their daily routines, visit somewhere beautiful and relax while making art. The food and wine provided have also been notable! I know this is an experience they will remember.
The event will showcase elegant wines that were specially selected to pair with holiday themed bites
Find the wine that pairs perfectly with your Thanksgiving family
TD: Do you know ahead of time what each artist is choosing to create, or is that a surprise for everyone?
PB: It’s a surprise for everyone! I know my colleagues’ work and I have a general idea of what I think is coming, but it will be a surprise! They are all accomplished artists so I have no doubt it will all be beautifully made and encompass a variety of mediums and styles!
TD: What about this event has surprised you the most?
PB: Well, I shouldn’t be surprised by this because I’ve worked with the management and staff of The Dundee for some time, but I am always struck by their generosity, kindness and dedication to supporting the arts! It is not often that a business truly understands the mutual benefit provided to both the business and to artists when they work together.
TD: What about it brings you the most joy?
PB: I enjoy projects with a clear goal and timeline. Much of my work with the hotels is spread out over months and does not always have a clear start or finish – it’s ongoing and never complete. This is a tidy package. That’s not the answer you’re probably looking for, so I’ll also say that it brings me great joy to combine my regular work life and colleagues with my side gig at The Dundee! It’s an amazing connection and a wonderful, diverse group of people to bring together! I have so much respect for everyone involved and it truly makes my heart happy to see everyone enjoying this project so much! That joy will surely surface in the artwork!
TD: Do all of the artists live in the area? Are they staying at The Dundee or commuting from home?
PB: The artists are all from Monmouth, Salem and Portland. Jenna’s sister is also participating, and I believe she is in Dundee.
Dundee Wine Library founders Henry and Araminta Miller
Enjoy wine pours from our most recent releases of Dundee Wine Library wines, wines by Clos Griotte (Thibaud Mandet), and other various selections
TD: What is one thing you want people to know about this event?
PB: I can’t say much about the actual “event,” but I am struck by how art can help build community and seems to be the perfect bridge between the community, wineries and the hotel. It’s a perfect way to bring people together and to give them common ground for connecting and appreciating what each other does and has to offer. I hope folks will come see the work and experience some of the same wonder and joy that the artists have experienced being in, and inspired by, all the Dundee has to offer.
TD: Is there anything I haven’t asked about that you’d like to share?
PB: Not yet… I’m sure more and more will come up as I start to gather the artwork and install it on the 17th!
The Details:
There are three Friendsgiving tasting slots available (1:00, 2:30, and 4:00 pm) with a cap of 20 people per tasting, so make sure to book your tickets soon! Bonus: Dundee Hotel guests receive two tickets at $10 off each when they reserve a room and enter the code DUNDEE22. Eat, drink, be merry, and support local art in our community. Then to top it all off enjoy a one-of-a-kind room with us at The Dundee Hotel!
Select the “Friendsgiving” event and you can pick a time slot from there.
Discover a new favorite in the company of friends and family
Stop in for a glass…you may walk out with a bottle (or more)!
A word with the Artists!
Quinlan Wedge – Participating Artist
DH: What is your earliest memory with art?
QW: My earliest memory with art is making crafts in preschool and kindergarten. My favorite part of school was always art time, and I loved sticking sparkly things to foam to make Christmas ornaments and stringing colorful beads so I could keep them to play with later. Even then, I was thrifty with my supplies!
DH: What inspires you?
QW: I’m inspired by the often-unseen parts of the world around us. I feel like we get so busy that we forget to look around and notice small things, like the contrasting colors of wild irises, or the way moss grows in unkempt windowsills.
DH: What surprised you the most about your time in the vineyards?
QW: The most surprising thing for me during my time at the vineyards was seeing the details up close, from watching a line of people sort and clean wine grapes to walking through the lines of grape plants.
Quinlan Wedge – Artist
Becca McCannell – Artist
Rebecca (“Becca”) McCannell – Participating Artist
DH: What inspires you?
RM: I love the play of light and shadows so I was particularly drawn to the amazingly varied reflections found on the massive fermentation tanks at Furioso.
DH: What was your process of choosing what to create?
RM: I took lots of snapshots the two days I was in Dundee and then pored over them to select an interesting detail that I enlarged into a sketch that I then turned into an intaglio print.
DH: What about this particular project brought you the most joy?
RM: The weather and the spectacular views of the Dundee hills those sunny afternoons were just amazing. And I loved seeing a bottle of sparkling wine get sabered.
Several participating artists get the inside scoop from Dom, the winemaker at Furioso.
Nemi Mckay – Artist at work among the vines
Mnemosyne Mckay (Aka “Nemi”) – Participating Artist
DH: What inspires you?
MM: Colors have always really moved me – I remember very clearly the first time I really registered purple as a color, I think it might be my first memory- I was a tiny kid, and I was holding a purple, translucent hair brush handle. The way the translucence changed the values of the color from the most vibrant purple to almost black was the most mesmerizing thing I had ever seen. One of my earliest memories of creating art was trying to forge my mom’s signature for a hot chocolate read-a-thon. I was in kindergarten, and the more your parents signed your reading log, the more marshmallows you got in your hot chocolate. When I got caught my dad started laughing and said, “Actually, these are pretty good.” It was one of the earliest times I could see that the way I observed lines and made marks could create a desired effect :).
DH: Is there anything you’d like to share with us about your piece?
MM: I was hoping to do a plain air painting, but after having gone to some of the vineyards I was really inspired by the community of winemakers that were working together. I was told that there was a lot of concern that the grapes last season had been subjected to too much smoke from the wildfires, and winemakers from all over the world were imparting wisdom to winemakers of the Willamette Valley. Like how the smoke could be mitigated by soaking the grapes in milk. That visual seemed really dreamy and beautiful, so I decided to go there with my work. My goal in all of my work is to celebrate and record culture, and winemakers seem to have a culture of collaboration, hard work, and ingenuity – which makes my work a pleasure!
DH: the best piece of advice you’ve received as an artist?
MM: The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is probably from those angels in our lives that offer affirmation in one hand, and encouragement in the other. The best gift is a mentor that validates your presence but shouts you on to keep growing and pushing into places you’ve never been. That and “You are only kidding yourself if you put creativity before craft” – Twyla Tharp
DH: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
MM: I think I would just reiterate – The work I want to do is to record and champion the beautiful cultures that are everywhere around us. There are so many little pockets of goodness. Families, towns, industries – that are full of humor, tradition, depth and grace. They deserve art.
Artist, Claire Albright (on the left) takes in the scene
The beautiful fall day serves up some inspiration!
Claire Albright – Participating Artist
DH: What is your earliest memory A) creating art, & B) feeling moved by art?
CA: I think my earliest memory creating also happens to be my earliest memory of being moved by art. Not moved in the viewing of it, but seeing the power in creating it. When I was 3 or 4, I asked my Papa to paint with me. He obliged and we opened up my prang kids watercolor sets and got to work. I don’t remember so much of that instance of us painting together, but more of all of the watercolor paintings of his that it lead to after. He was a natural. And it has brought him so much joy over the years, as well as bringing us together.
DH: What impressed you the most during your time in the vineyards?
CA: I think I was most impressed by the variety of rich color that was in the valley during this time. One of the biggest highlights for me though, was getting to learn more about making wine. Getting to see the grapes being processed and sorted and then stored was fascinating, and hearing the vintners talk about their specific process and their wines was so special.
DH: Is there anything you’d like to share with us about your piece?
CA: Well I have two pieces and I think the landscape I did pretty much speaks for itself. Within my more abstract painting I was aiming to capture the magic of the process of winemaking, and this specific time in the valley. In this piece, the grapes are falling to the ground and the lucky ones are being caught by the nurturing leaf -like hands of the harvesters, sorters, and vintners that turn them to wine.