January Art @ Thump Coffee: “Push” Division Street Skatepark Project Skateboard Deck Art, Plus Lloyd McMullen’s 2D/3D Mixed Media

Throughout January, Thump Coffee in downtown Bend hosts an exclusive sneak preview of “Push” skateboard decks customized by dozens of local, regional and national artists, including Adam Haynes, Mark Rada, Aaron Draplin, and T-Fly. The skateboard artworks will be auctioned in mid-February to benefit the Division Street Skatepark Project. Complimenting the Push showing are mixed media works in two- and three-dimensions by Bend artist and educator, Lloyd McMullen.

McMullen works extensively with found and recycled materials. “Everyday settings and homely objects inspire my art,” she explains. “Snatches of conversation overheard and cast-off items discovered underfoot serve as raw material and metaphor.”

McMullen’s two- and three-dimensional acrylic paintings are layered with deep transparent glazes to embed objects and color within the work. “My work is about time, seeking glimpses of history revealed in simple objects,” she says. “Discarded and broken detritus; random words from fortunes cookies, the daily news, found scraps of paper, classic works of literature ‘paint’ and reveal from the inside out. Currently my work explores figurative/abstract themes as story and symbol.”

McMullen is a Print Associate at Atelier 6000, a fine art prints studio and artists’ workshop in Bend; one of the founding members of Artists Local 101, a Central Oregon-based contemporary art group; Visual Arts Program Director at Young Musicians & Artists, a Willamette University-based program.

McMullen’s work is currently on display in the “On the Cutting Edge” exhibit at the Coos Art Museum. In Bend, work is on display in the “Paper Rock Scissors” show at Atelier 6000, and includes an outdoor installation, “Enlightenment”, at Gossamer, the Knitting Place. Recent invitational/juried exhibits include Atelier 6000, the 135 UP! gallery, and Central Oregon Community College in Bend, OR; the Art House Gallery, Atlanta, GA.; Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene, OR; the Firehouse Gallery, Del Rio Council for the Arts, TX; and includes outdoor installations in Central Oregon.

For more about McMullen and her work, visit her website.

According to organizers, Push is modeled after a similar community skatepark project in Montana and inspired by Portland’s famed Burnside skatepark and similar DIY parks. “Though we have lots of sun here in Central Oregon, a covered skatepark designed, built, and maintained by skaters without the help of the parks dept, or the city is the goal,” say organizers.

Situated on Division Street under the Bend Parkway, the land is currently vacant and strewn with large boulders. The project crew, comprised of volunteers who have dreamt of such an opportunity for years, has already formed a 501(c)3 nonprofit in order to secure grants and funds for building the park, which has already won the support of the Oregon Department of Transportation.

For more information on the skatepark project, go to divisionstreetskatepark.org.

Thump Coffee is located in downtown Bend at 25 NW Minnesota Ave. For details, visit www.ThumpCoffee.com or call 541-388-0226.

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