I am an artist based in Eagle Creek, Oregon, and have been producing art professionally for over 30 years. There are several different mediums that I work with; papier mache', paint, oil clay, bronze, pen and pencil. My artwork ranges from quiet and contemplative pieces, to work portraying the more exuberant and joyful side of life. I like to paint people, plants, birds... I like music and movement. I keep working until the piece feels ‘true’ to me.
I have displayed my artwork at the Oregon Country Fair since 1979. The free, creative spirit of the fair has had a definite influence on me and what I do as an artist. Originally I sold papier mache' in the form of Peculiar Pinatas, and gradually moved toward more sculptural pieces, many incorporating natural objects such as sticks, vines and moss.
My figurative bronze works developed after I made a life-sized papier mache' sculpture of a woman in 1985. My friend, the sculptor Nano Lopez, worked at an art foundry. He encouraged me to refine the piece and to have her cast in bronze. I learned all about the lost wax bronze casting process and in 1986 The Young Woman was my first bronze sculpture cast at a foundry in Walla Walla, WA.
Beginning in 1980 my partner, Joe Cotter, and I shared a studio/gallery space called the Chameleons Garden in Estacada, OR. Joe painted, made silk-screened prints and cards and worked with ceramics, and I painted, made various papier mache' creations, and sculpted. We also held years of weekly life drawing sessions. My brother Peter Bush owner of Rosebush Marimbas, joined us in 1986, making fine hand-crafted marimbas. The Chameleons Garden was a great work place and the site of many art gatherings in the 80's and early 90’s.
In 1988 I worked on Struggle and Hope, my first mural, sponsored by the Portland Central American Solidarity Committee and designed by Bill Garnett. I am a founding member of the Artback Artists Cooperative in Estacada, OR. Organized in 1993, we have painted a large scale, outdoor mural in our small, rural community each year since 1994. I have been the lead artist on four of them: Celebration '98, Tree of Life 2003 (in collaboration with Reeva Wortel and Emily Hyde), Bird Party 2007 and most recently on the renovation of Joe Cotter's the Cycle of Wood mural. I also have murals in the the National College of Natural Medicine, the Molalla Public Library and Eagle Creek Elementary school.
In 1997 I had the good fortune to begin working for McMenamins as one of the artists painting in their historic hotels and pubs. I am grateful to Mike McMenamin for being so supportive of the arts. I enjoy the opportunity to work with the other artists, who have become friends as well. As a group, we have had three shows together in the Portland area.
My artwork has been in the Spiral Gallery, a cooperative in downtown Estacada, OR, since its inception in 2003. The Gallery provides a much needed and much appreciated gathering space for artists and their supporters.
I would not be the artist I am today if it were not for the long and loving relationship I had with my husband Joe Cotter, who passed away in 2012. Joe encouraged me, challenged me and supported me in every way. We raised our sons, Leon and Noah together. My family and friends have been an inspiration in my life and my art.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
1983-84 Portland State University, Portland, OR
1977-78 Museum Art School, Portland, OR
Affiliations
2003 to present Spiral Gallery Cooperative, Estacada, OR
!997- present McMenamins Artist
1993 - present Artback Artists Cooperative, Eagle Creek, OR
1979-present Art vendor, Oregon Country Fair, Veneta, OR
2001-2012 Performing Arts Group of Estacada, Estacada, OR
1981-2011 Chameleons Garden studio/gallery, Estacada, OR
1981-1983 Peculiar Pinatas, Portland Saturday Market, Portland, OR
Art Shows
2013 Group Show Spiral Gallery Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2012 Group Show Spiral Gallery Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2011 Group Show Spiral Gallery Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2010 Group Show Spiral Gallery Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2009 McMenamins Artists Showcase Linfield College, McMinnville, OR
2009 McMenamins Artists Showcase Portland International Airport, Portland, OR
2008 Kolieha Bush and Joe Cotter The Spiral Gallery, Estacada, OR
2007 McMenamins Artists Showcase Gallery Portland, OR
2006 Joe Cotter and Kolieha Bush The Spiral Gallery, Estacada, OR
2003 The Family Show The Spiral Gallery, Estacada,OR
1997 Life Drawing Show The Chameleons Gallery, Estacada, OR
1996 ArtPARTy West Linn, OR
1992 Bronze Invitational Chemeketa Community College, Salem, OR
1991 Six Artists Six Visions The Chameleons Garden, Estacada, OR
1991 Art Gathering The Chameleons Garden, Estacada, OR
1988 Creative Visualizations Westhills Unitarian Fellowship, Portland, OR
1988 Art Gathering The Chameleons Garden, Estacada, OR
1987 Volume, Light and Color The Elusive Trout Pub, Sandy, OR
1987 Art Gathering The Chameleons Garden, Estacada, OR
1987 Public Hanging Portland Center for the Visual Arts, Portland, OR
1986 Art Gathering The Chameleons Garden , Estacada, OR
1985 Public Hanging Portland Center for the Visual Arts, Portland, OR
1985 Joe Cotter and Kolieha Bush Hillsdale Brew Pub, Portland, OR
1985 Paintings, Pastels and Papier Mache´ Sandpiper Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR
Murals
2013 The Cycle of Wood designed by Joe Cotter in 1996, Artback Artists Cooperative lead artist for restoration
2009 History of Natural Medicine 2nd floor National College of Natural Medicine, Portland, OR
2007 Bird Party Artback Artists Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2002 Tree of Life Collaboration with Reeva Wortel and Emily Hyde Artback Artists Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2001 Alice O'Black Memorial Mural Mollala Public Library, Mollala, OR
2000 Ideas and Idioms Eagle Creek Elementary School, Eagle Creek, OR
1998 Celebration '98 Artback Artists Cooperative, Estacada, OR
1997 All the World Kids Klub Art School, Barton, OR
I have displayed my artwork at the Oregon Country Fair since 1979. The free, creative spirit of the fair has had a definite influence on me and what I do as an artist. Originally I sold papier mache' in the form of Peculiar Pinatas, and gradually moved toward more sculptural pieces, many incorporating natural objects such as sticks, vines and moss.
My figurative bronze works developed after I made a life-sized papier mache' sculpture of a woman in 1985. My friend, the sculptor Nano Lopez, worked at an art foundry. He encouraged me to refine the piece and to have her cast in bronze. I learned all about the lost wax bronze casting process and in 1986 The Young Woman was my first bronze sculpture cast at a foundry in Walla Walla, WA.
Beginning in 1980 my partner, Joe Cotter, and I shared a studio/gallery space called the Chameleons Garden in Estacada, OR. Joe painted, made silk-screened prints and cards and worked with ceramics, and I painted, made various papier mache' creations, and sculpted. We also held years of weekly life drawing sessions. My brother Peter Bush owner of Rosebush Marimbas, joined us in 1986, making fine hand-crafted marimbas. The Chameleons Garden was a great work place and the site of many art gatherings in the 80's and early 90’s.
In 1988 I worked on Struggle and Hope, my first mural, sponsored by the Portland Central American Solidarity Committee and designed by Bill Garnett. I am a founding member of the Artback Artists Cooperative in Estacada, OR. Organized in 1993, we have painted a large scale, outdoor mural in our small, rural community each year since 1994. I have been the lead artist on four of them: Celebration '98, Tree of Life 2003 (in collaboration with Reeva Wortel and Emily Hyde), Bird Party 2007 and most recently on the renovation of Joe Cotter's the Cycle of Wood mural. I also have murals in the the National College of Natural Medicine, the Molalla Public Library and Eagle Creek Elementary school.
In 1997 I had the good fortune to begin working for McMenamins as one of the artists painting in their historic hotels and pubs. I am grateful to Mike McMenamin for being so supportive of the arts. I enjoy the opportunity to work with the other artists, who have become friends as well. As a group, we have had three shows together in the Portland area.
My artwork has been in the Spiral Gallery, a cooperative in downtown Estacada, OR, since its inception in 2003. The Gallery provides a much needed and much appreciated gathering space for artists and their supporters.
I would not be the artist I am today if it were not for the long and loving relationship I had with my husband Joe Cotter, who passed away in 2012. Joe encouraged me, challenged me and supported me in every way. We raised our sons, Leon and Noah together. My family and friends have been an inspiration in my life and my art.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
1983-84 Portland State University, Portland, OR
1977-78 Museum Art School, Portland, OR
Affiliations
2003 to present Spiral Gallery Cooperative, Estacada, OR
!997- present McMenamins Artist
1993 - present Artback Artists Cooperative, Eagle Creek, OR
1979-present Art vendor, Oregon Country Fair, Veneta, OR
2001-2012 Performing Arts Group of Estacada, Estacada, OR
1981-2011 Chameleons Garden studio/gallery, Estacada, OR
1981-1983 Peculiar Pinatas, Portland Saturday Market, Portland, OR
Art Shows
2013 Group Show Spiral Gallery Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2012 Group Show Spiral Gallery Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2011 Group Show Spiral Gallery Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2010 Group Show Spiral Gallery Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2009 McMenamins Artists Showcase Linfield College, McMinnville, OR
2009 McMenamins Artists Showcase Portland International Airport, Portland, OR
2008 Kolieha Bush and Joe Cotter The Spiral Gallery, Estacada, OR
2007 McMenamins Artists Showcase Gallery Portland, OR
2006 Joe Cotter and Kolieha Bush The Spiral Gallery, Estacada, OR
2003 The Family Show The Spiral Gallery, Estacada,OR
1997 Life Drawing Show The Chameleons Gallery, Estacada, OR
1996 ArtPARTy West Linn, OR
1992 Bronze Invitational Chemeketa Community College, Salem, OR
1991 Six Artists Six Visions The Chameleons Garden, Estacada, OR
1991 Art Gathering The Chameleons Garden, Estacada, OR
1988 Creative Visualizations Westhills Unitarian Fellowship, Portland, OR
1988 Art Gathering The Chameleons Garden, Estacada, OR
1987 Volume, Light and Color The Elusive Trout Pub, Sandy, OR
1987 Art Gathering The Chameleons Garden, Estacada, OR
1987 Public Hanging Portland Center for the Visual Arts, Portland, OR
1986 Art Gathering The Chameleons Garden , Estacada, OR
1985 Public Hanging Portland Center for the Visual Arts, Portland, OR
1985 Joe Cotter and Kolieha Bush Hillsdale Brew Pub, Portland, OR
1985 Paintings, Pastels and Papier Mache´ Sandpiper Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR
Murals
2013 The Cycle of Wood designed by Joe Cotter in 1996, Artback Artists Cooperative lead artist for restoration
2009 History of Natural Medicine 2nd floor National College of Natural Medicine, Portland, OR
2007 Bird Party Artback Artists Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2002 Tree of Life Collaboration with Reeva Wortel and Emily Hyde Artback Artists Cooperative, Estacada, OR
2001 Alice O'Black Memorial Mural Mollala Public Library, Mollala, OR
2000 Ideas and Idioms Eagle Creek Elementary School, Eagle Creek, OR
1998 Celebration '98 Artback Artists Cooperative, Estacada, OR
1997 All the World Kids Klub Art School, Barton, OR