Art in the Vineyard: Charles Churchill + Miri Admoni

Charles Churchill has been a sculptor for over 4 decades! His passion for art evolved from a love of jazz, leading him to beat poetry, abstract art, and even motorcycles. In 1989, he graduated art school at Sonoma State University and began showing and selling his art. Abstract assemblage and light sculptures make up a large portion of his body of work, made almost entirely of disregarded industrial scraps. By using found wood, glass, and metals, he celebrates and honors the materials made from our planet’s resources. Charles has taught art and curated exhibitions at Sonoma State University and the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. He has also shared the art of assemblage to children of all ages in various schools and Head Start programs in Northern California. Charles was the August 2021 Featured Artist at Central Art Gallery in Medford, OR and currently has 5 pieces on display at the Guild Gallery in Kerby, which include his GARDEN GATE made for Illinois River Valley Arts Council's 2023 Gateway Project. To see more of his work, visit www.charleschurchillsculptor.com.

Miri Admoni is a mixed media, glass, and jewelry artist, who shares her life between Israel and the USA. Arts and crafts have always been a part of Miri’s life since childhood. Her formal education was in graphic design, where she worked as a freelance designer and producer of unique recycled paper products and specialized in packaging.

During 2004-2010 Miri studied various glass techniques, and from 2011-2012 she studied metalsmith in a private studio and started to create jewelry with glass. In 2012 Miri won the jewelry award at Bullseye’s Glass Emerge competition. In 2015 she participated for the second time at the Israeli Glass Biennale at Eretz Israel Museum, where her work Desert Spirit has been acquired by Baroness Ariane De Rothschild. In 2018 she participated in a professional residency at North Lands Creative Glass, Scotland, UK. In 2021 she participated in a professional residency at Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State and SOU Schneider Museum's "Art Beyond", a biennial outdoor art adventure taking place in and around Ashland, OR. This past spring, she once again participated in Art Beyond 2023, showcasing a sculptural and installation-based series called "All That Jazz." Nature has always been the greatest source of inspiration. Initially, Miri was inspired by her surroundings in Israel, the rich and diverse nature scenes between the Mediterranean Sea and the Judean desert. That led to the creation of the Alchemy glass series and the collaboration with Bedouin women artists. Now Miri lives and works from her home studio in Selma OR, where she continues to explore her relationship with nature.