Credit: Artwork by Diane Archer

Ordinary Magic: Looking for the Sacred in Everyday Life

Northwest

When

Nov. 5–28, 2026

Days vary, Times vary

Free

Where

imperfecta gallery

809 NW Flanders St, Portland, OR 97209
Portland, OR, 97209

The following description was submitted by the event organizer.

The Imperfecta Gallery is proud to present Ordinary Magic. This exhibition presents work by Portland artist Diane Archer. The work in this show explores the physical and emotional aspects of place through the lenses of Deep Ecology and Bioregionalism. A practice of looking for the sacred in everyday life also informs Archer’s work. By combining maps, images, natural elements, found objects, and personal relics, the artist creates meaningful, layered mixed-media assemblages. Feathers, seeds, flowers, bones, stones and household objects become visual representations of moments in time and particular spaces, along with the epiphanies that result. Ordinary Magic is a state of mind; a sense of wonder. The ordinary is extraordinary if we take the time to look closely and with curiosity. A nest, rose, snail shell or handful of acorns can be talismans that tell stories or invoke memories. A collection of objects can become a kind of personal map of a place, person or time.

As Diane explains, “the act of gathering, arranging, layering, and preserving these materials prolongs my focus and attention. Each piece begins with its frame, where I arrange layers of maps and images I’ve collected to match the moment and place. The topographical and aeronautical maps might be altered, copied, enlarged and/or stained with homemade dyes. Next, images and words are either drawn or transferred onto the maps. Found objects are then carefully embedded into the surface (sometimes in vials or specimen cases). The finished work is coated with several layers of acrylic glaze to protect fragile surfaces.”

In her work, Diane Archer states that the most important issue of this time is seeing the world and everything in it as an interconnected whole, of which the human species is but one small part. As she puts it: “I want the work in this show to encourage a way of looking at the world so that the beauty, mystery, and connection to ordinary magic appears all around us.”

Opening Reception: Nov 5, 5–8 p.m.

Mixed media artist Diane Archer was born and spent her early life in Ohio, where she received a BFA from The University of Akron and an MFA from Kent State University. In 1999, a residency at the Sitka Center brought her west. She fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and decided to make Oregon her home. In 2007, Diane was interviewed for Oregon Art Beat and in 2023, her work was included in the Harvard Map Library Collections.