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A Frogwood Collaboration

  • Writer: April Ottey
    April Ottey
  • Jun 2
  • 3 min read

What is it, you ask? Frogwood is an amazing event that happens every other year at Camp Colton, a magical place southeast of Portland. I like to say it is art camp for grownups, but it is more than that. For me, it is a time to interact with other artists, to learn from each other, to see and explore other mediums. The time is intense, 60 artists show up with their tools of the trade and set up on tables under canopies next to a big red barn; also full of tools. There are jewelers, fiber artists, wood turners, blacksmiths, mixed media artists and much more. We spend five days (and part of each night) together collaborating, creating, learning and teaching. Over those 5 days, more than 150 pieces of art were created. We were housed and fed great food, which fueled the creativity. It is such an honor to be a part of this event. It has me returning to the studio with renewed energy and ideas.



"The week of Frogwood is a gathering of artists from all walks of life, varying levels of experience, multiple genres, and unique life experiences. It works so well because every participant has opened themselves to be teachers and learners; has the deep understanding that each of us is vulnerable when ideas are proffered and opinions are sought; and truly believes that collaborating is a pathway to personal growth and a stronger community." (Frogwood website)


 a still life of my table and what I was working on.
a still life of my table and what I was working on.
a  photo of my not so tidy bench.
a photo of my not so tidy bench.

I collaborated on numerous pieces while I was there. I did some casting and helped others learn to cast. Some of my cast pieces were incorporated into other works. There are a number of the pieces that I worked on in the online auction that is happening now until June 8th. Here is the link: https://frogwood.betterworld.org/auctions/2025-online-auction. There are a lot of amazing pieces. I hope you take a look.


Here are a few that I was a part of.



This is a piece that I had thought a lot about before I went to Frogwood and wanted to work on while I was there. It is called Holdfast. As an aquatic term, a holdfast is a root-like structure that anchors aquatic organisms to a substrate, like algae or seaweeds. I found this holdfast washed up on the beach near my house and had saved it to possibly cast. During the Collab, @rongerton and I cast it into bronze and @feltstrong made the felt cording that linked the two. I love how ideas are worked through at the collab. In this instance, I was wandering through the work areas on the first day and brainstormed with Ron on how to cast the piece. I stopped by Lisa’s (@feltstrong) workspace to see what she was working on and showed her the holdfast. We started brainstorming ideas to connect the two parts. I loved her idea of a felt cord connection. We both worked on our separate parts, and it came together by the very last minute of the last day! It is available here.



These earrings I collaborated with @glassheart_pdx. Anumi brought me these beautiful glass links that she created. I had brought this shattered safety glass along, not knowing how I might use it. They paired perfectly together. I then fabricated the findings to pull it all together. These are available here.


I worked on finials for a couple of beautifully turned boxes. I worked on this with Marjin Wall. You can see it in the auction here.




I worked on a number of other pieces. It really was fun to see the different ways these pieces came together.



One afternoon, I took a little time to walk through the work areas, and I was blown away by all the beautiful work being created. I saw so much problem-solving, teaching and learning going on. Here are a few photos of what I saw along with photos of the beautiful Camp Colton where we spent our week.




I hope you enjoy seeing the work of an incredible group of artists that I was honored to be a part of. XOXO April


 
 
 

2 Comments


Anita Case
Anita Case
Jun 02

Truly amazing April! So happy for you and also for the artists that got to collaborate with the very talented artist, you!

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April Ottey
April Ottey
Jun 06
Replying to

Thanks Anita, It is really a great experience and so glad that I was able to participate!

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