La Grande’s Art Center East opens shows July 11

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, July 9, 2025

LA GRANDE — Art Center East opens two art shows on Friday, July 11.

“A Remix of Whimsy” is a joint fiber exhibit by La Grande artists Heather Tomlinson and Kimberly Baum, and Baker City’s Sarah E. Wynn presents a collection of paintings in “I Have Some Ideas.”

Both shows open with a reception from 6-8 p.m. on July 11, and continue through Aug. 30. A closing reception is planned for Aug. 29, 6-8 p.m.

A Remix of Whimsy

Tomlinson and Baum use embroidery, crochet, machine stitching, cross-stitch, screenprinting, appliqué, tufting and felting to create their abstract works, according to an ACE press release.

Tomlinson is a costume design professor at Eastern Oregon University, and her art centers around costumes, clothing and fiber arts, as well as collages.

Baum uses vintage and modern fabrics, wool-blend felt and found objects to build mixed media sculptures.

“For me, emotion and sentiment are inexorably woven amongst the fibers of cloth — the age, colors, patterns, textures and origins hold the power to transport me to another time and place,” she said.

I Have Some Ideas

Wynn’s works feature oil paintings and hand-lettered signs inspired by her personal world — objects, landscapes, memories and words.

The exhibit includes a series of hand-painted signs on paper utilizing old techniques for producing signs and advertisements to explore “what art would say if it could speak to us in plain English,” she said.

Raffle tickets for an assortment of stickers and buttons illustrated by Wynn will be available for purchase in person at ACE and at artcentereast.org beginning at 6 p.m. on July 11.

Proceeds from the raffle support the ACE Gallery Program. The winning ticket will be drawn after Sept. 1.

About ACE

Art Center East, 1006 Penn Ave., is open Wednesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Exhibits can also be viewed online thanks to a partnership with High Country Realty Professionals in La Grande.