Excited to hold our office open again on First Friday July the 1st!
Please join us as we celebrate the night in our new downtown office and come meet our featured artist. You can purchase her works. We’ll have refreshments, swag, and friendly faces.
Stop by our Downtown Bend office to see some amazing art by MaryLea Harris!
MaryLea Harris
WEST + MAIN HOMES
750 NW Lava Rd. Bend, OR 97703
7.1.2022, 5-9pm
Meet MaryLea!
My abstract work features brightly colored backgrounds created with layers of paint, paper, and plaster. My Map Series is meant to explore relationships between place, connection, and belonging on our collective personal journeys. The layers in my work explore the interplay between positives and negatives in space and life.
I believe that authenticity is greater than perfection and I hope that my paintings remind us that we can be both a masterpiece and a work in progress.
Learn more about MaryLea in our Q+A!
How did you arrive where you are today?
I am a full-time visual artist specializing in painting, mixed media, sculptural books, and fiber arts. I'm a parent, educator and published author. With over 20 years in the field of Arts Education, I've taught elementary art in the public school system and authored multiple art lesson e-books for teachers and caregivers of children. Before making art full time, I was the founder of Pink and Green Mama, an award-winning arts and crafts website for parents of young children. I wrote articles and developed freelance crafts and activities for magazines and websites. Some of my well know clients include Family Fun Magazine, Disney, Elmer’s Glue, Melissa and Doug, and PBS Parents.
What are you known for?
I am inspired by nature and it is a theme that frequently appears in my work. I tend to work in series. My most recognizable series are my Happy Little Leaves paintings, my Abstract Map Series, my LOVE Wins HeART series and my Snowflake series. In 2017, I was commissioned by Deschutes Brewery to paint a series of four snowflake paintings for their 30th Anniversary Jubelale beer labels. I was the first artist to ever create more than one piece of art for their seasonal label.
Where do you find inspiration?
I believe that LOVE WINS.
I believe in GIVING BACK to my local Central Oregon community.
I believe in SUPPORTING women and young girls.
I attended an all-women’s college and am raising two teenage daughters of my own. I teach art classes and art making workshops locally for groups of women and teen girls as a way to boost self-esteem and empower women by making art in a supportive group environment. In 2018, I founded the MaryLea Harris Scholarship for Women in Art. It is a $2500 scholarship awarded annually to a local graduating female student in Central Oregon who is planning to study art, arts management, or arts education in college. These scholarships are funded from a percentage of all of my sales. After this year's scholarship presentation, I will have donated $10K in scholarships for local young women to follow their dreams.
What do you like to do outside of work?
In my free time I foster kittens for the local humane society (The Humane Society of Central Oregon.) I'm also real estate investor. I rehab/renovate old houses with my husband.
Tell us more about your real estate activities!
Not only do I remodel and manage short term vacation rentals with my husband (we currently have a fantastic oceanfront vacation home on the Oregon Coast @sealrockcottage and an adorable 5-Star Cabin in Sunriver @thecabin_sunriver but I’m also the co-owner and Vice President of Solaire Homebuilders, Central Oregon’s original custom net-zero green builder! My husband Geoff Harris and I are the new generation carrying forth the legacy built by the original founders, Mike and Cindy O'Neil.
If you are a local artist/crafter/maker/indie business owner and would like to be featured on our blog, please fill out this form or contact Greg Fischer at greg@westandmainoregon.com with questions...we can't wait to learn all about you!
