About Sandra Marianne Oberdorfer
I'm a visual artist who lives in Portland, Oregon, and my paintings, sculptures, and installations have been exhibited locally and nationally; including most recently at Meteor Craft Operative in Portland, OR, and at Monte Vista Projects in Los Angeles, CA as part of a collaborative partnership with Cori Champagne in the Bunny Sandwich Collective.
I received my MFA from Maine College of Art and my BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft. I run Carrot Flower Creative in tandem with my studio work.
My art works with archetypal imagery and symbolism, our collective ancient stories, in support of finding an inner lexicon of value and meaning. It's a process of bringing creative emergence into alignment with spiritual practice; discovering the alchemy of transforming gravity into form and balancing expression with every day needs.
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A large swath of my art practice is collaborative: it's not worth it or sustainable to grow creatively if that growth does not occur in relation to the growth of others. I've collaborated with different artists in various organizational formats, including as a founding member of Meteor Craft Operative and as half of the artist duo that is the Bunny Sandwich Collective.
Nurturing healthier balanced communities led to a commitment with Friendly House, where I currently serve as their Community Engagement Manager. Through this work we are able to provide art and wellness programming for vulnerable populations in Portland.
I currently serve on the Board of the Alberta Abbey Foundation, an arts center and music venue centering the creativity of BIPOC artists and musicians in the region. I've also served on the Board of The Church of Nature, an eco-spiritual community based in upstate New York. My time with The Church of Nature included a year long term as interim Executive Director.
Formerly, I worked as Program and Education Manager at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. For three years from 2012 – 2014 I co-curated an international juried design competition called SukkahPDX as part of my work at the museum. SukkahPDX is an outdoor exhibition of temporary structures called sukkahs which are built worldwide every year in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
As an arts educator and curator I have developed and collaboratively managed events for non-profit organizations in the Pacific Northwest including the environmental activist group Bark as well as the Oregon College of Art and Craft. Additional collaborations include co-organizing portfolio review events for art students at the Astoria Visual Arts Center, Boise Art Museum, and Spokane's Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.
I received my MFA from Maine College of Art and my BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft. I run Carrot Flower Creative in tandem with my studio work.
My art works with archetypal imagery and symbolism, our collective ancient stories, in support of finding an inner lexicon of value and meaning. It's a process of bringing creative emergence into alignment with spiritual practice; discovering the alchemy of transforming gravity into form and balancing expression with every day needs.
More Information
A large swath of my art practice is collaborative: it's not worth it or sustainable to grow creatively if that growth does not occur in relation to the growth of others. I've collaborated with different artists in various organizational formats, including as a founding member of Meteor Craft Operative and as half of the artist duo that is the Bunny Sandwich Collective.
Nurturing healthier balanced communities led to a commitment with Friendly House, where I currently serve as their Community Engagement Manager. Through this work we are able to provide art and wellness programming for vulnerable populations in Portland.
I currently serve on the Board of the Alberta Abbey Foundation, an arts center and music venue centering the creativity of BIPOC artists and musicians in the region. I've also served on the Board of The Church of Nature, an eco-spiritual community based in upstate New York. My time with The Church of Nature included a year long term as interim Executive Director.
Formerly, I worked as Program and Education Manager at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. For three years from 2012 – 2014 I co-curated an international juried design competition called SukkahPDX as part of my work at the museum. SukkahPDX is an outdoor exhibition of temporary structures called sukkahs which are built worldwide every year in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
As an arts educator and curator I have developed and collaboratively managed events for non-profit organizations in the Pacific Northwest including the environmental activist group Bark as well as the Oregon College of Art and Craft. Additional collaborations include co-organizing portfolio review events for art students at the Astoria Visual Arts Center, Boise Art Museum, and Spokane's Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.
