Portland Magazine
January 28, 2022
We asked you what you've been making during the pandemic and you didn't disappoint. Check out some of the inspiring things UP faculty, staff, students, and alumni have created over the last two years.
Spirit of Honolulu + Paint
Julee (Lock) Ryan ’92, Office Assistant, School of Education
Paul Ryan ‘92
Hailee Ryan (graduate of Concordia University Irvine)
Emilee Ryan ‘24
During the summer of 2020, my family painted an ugly wall in our backyard. It is actually the exterior of our neighbor’s garage. We decided as a family on the design and colors. Paul cleaned, primed, and painted the wall with a fresh coat of white. Then with the help of Google images and a projector, my oldest daughter (Hailee) made stencils using tag board from the Dollar Tree and traced the shapes onto the wall. The four of us painted for about a week during our free time, which we had a lot of! We chose a Hawaiian print design because I was born and raised in Honolulu, and we visit at least once a year. Once an island girl, always an island girl!
We loved our pink and white wall so much that we painted another one in the garage. This is the wall directly in front of my parking spot. It makes me happy to come home.
Chemistry + Color
Sarah Bunger ’20
After graduating from UP as a chemistry major, I started graduate work as part of University of Oregon’s Knight Campus Graduate Internship Program. My internship at Lonza (Bend, OR) began in January, in the midst of the pandemic. Chemists couldn’t work from home, so every employee had to do a temperature check every day. Passing meant a colored wristband or sticker. The colorful bits of paper inspired me to create this piece; each square represents a day of work and learning, as well as a memento from this historic pandemic. I’ve just graduated with an M.S. in chemistry and an interesting work of art!
Humor + Pencil
Mark Pitzer
Associate Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences
“Historical Revisionism…Please” (2021 pencil and paper)
Sometimes, a bit of editing is helpful.
Pitzer’s art and imagination and sense of humor are now on display in the Dr. James T. Covert Gallery in UP’s Clark Library. You are welcome to stop by to enjoy the exhibit.
Banjo + Love
Laurie Laird
Director, Moreau Center for Service and Justice
My parents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in July 2020. Originally, they had planned a big party, and I thought it would be fun to surprise them by writing a song and performing it with my nephew, Nick Cullen, at the party. When the pandemic hit and the party was cancelled, my nephew and I worked on recording the song for them. He is quite talented when it comes to music and technology, and for several months we exchanged files as we worked on our separate recordings. He pulled it all together, and on their anniversary, we met with them on Zoom and shared the video. It was a wonderful creative process, focusing on my parents and telling their story through music and collaborating with my nephew. It brought us all closer together across the miles and the isolation.
Crochet + Zines
Susan Hasse ’00
To keep myself sane during the pandemic and to feed my need to create, I made a lap blanket, a poncho, 100 crocheted washcloths (50+ of which became gifts), four 11-foot-long scarves, 15 neck warmers, several magnets, and at least 50 copies of each of three zines. I also wrote countless letters, most of which had elaborately decorated envelopes. I worked on pages in art journals, started a glue book and bound several tiny blank books. And I tried a lot of new recipes.
Crocheting connects me to my grandmothers and great-grandmother, who all taught me when I was small. Crocheting also allowed me to feel productive and creative while binge-watching TV. The zines and letters kept me connected to friends and family who are far away and allowed me to brighten their isolated-at-home days.
Lock down or not, pandemic or not, I make things to feed my spirit. Then the bonus is being able to share and give handmade gifts…preferably for no reason, as a surprise.
Cherry Tree + Former Student/Friend
Karl Wetzel
Faculty member, Physics, 1969-2001; Department Chair (combined sciences, Bio, Chem, Physics in those years) 1980-1986; Dean, Graduate School, 1987-1998
By July 2020, boards cut from an ornamental cherry tree removed from our yard had been drying in my basement shop for ten years. Their edges showed the tree’s natural shape: an opportunity to incorporate a “live edge” into future projects. Such a project in 2020 was a sturdy bench with a curved and naturally beveled front edge as the photo shows. A challenge was to mitigate the crack in the board that was my choice for the bench top. Bridging the crack with several hardwood “butterfly inlays” would prevent further splitting. I learned this technique using a special cutter with my plunge router.
For the base, I salvaged fir 2 x 4s from a neighboring 1890s house undergoing a kitchen remodel. I removed remnant nails, cleaned the pieces, and sanded and trimmed to usable dimensions. Nail holes were left since they often showed discoloring or rust that contrasted well with the restored patina of the wood grain—“beauty marks” in the fir. I assembled all pieces using only glue and dowels, with nary a nail or screw.
I applied several coats of hand-rubbed finish, the recipe having been provided by Stuart Palmiter ’82, a former physics student and now a good friend.
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