Local artist group mourns, regroups after unexpected loss

The Adret Collective, composed of several East Clark County artists who work in shared studio space in rural Washougal, reached a crossroads in August 2023, after one of the group’s founders, Angela Swanson, died unexpectedly at the age of 54, following heart surgery complications.

Swanson, along with Tamara Dinius, Elizabeth Nye, Regina Westmoreland, Debbie Nagano and Ellen Nordgren, formed the Adret Collective in early 2023, turning a portion of a building on Dinius’ 5-acre property into a space where they could not only work on their art, but support each other and bond over shared life experiences — often over glasses of red wine.

“Angela was so important to all of us,” Dinius said. “We were all in there. All five of us had studio space there. She passed, and we were like, ‘How do we come back out to this spot?’”

So Dinius decided to clear the other side of the building, a 1,000-square-foot space that had been sitting empty for a while.

“I (thought), ‘Maybe we can turn it into a gallery so people can come out, see our artwork, and then come back and visit the studio,” Dinius said. “With Angela’s passing, we just had to reimagine it.”

The group’s newly named Workshop Gallery will open to the public for the first time from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 10, at 814 S.E. 357th Ave., Washougal. The launch party will feature snacks, beverages, music and opportunities for attendees to view the Collective’s artwork and even to create artwork of their own.

“For us, it’s just a way to let other people understand that art isn’t necessarily the end product — it’s really a process,” Dinius said. “Sometimes you let go of so many emotions that you don’t even know you had.”

Dinius credits art with helping her get through some of the darkest times of her life.

“It really has helped me get through a lot of loss in the last three years — I lost my dad, lost my husband, lost Angela,” she said. “Art is the way I can process it.”

The same holds true for other members of the Collective, Dinius said.

“All of us are all about the healing abilities of art,” she said. “Art is therapy.”

The gallery’s name pays homage to Dinius’ husband, Ron Dinius, a longtime member of the Washougal School Board who died Aug. 31, 2023. The building used to house Ron Dinius’ woodworking workshop, which “stood as a symbol of craftsmanship and dedication for over two decades,” Tamara Dinius said.

“We know he would be proud to see his workshop continue to be a source of creativity and connection for all who enter its doors,” she added.

Tamara Dinius, Nye, Nagano, Westmoreland and Nordgren have been joined by Cathy Chang and Judi Clark, expanding the Collective’s membership to seven.

“Having a space to come to, where you could just be creative and learn with other same-mindset people of the same age, was really important to me,” said Clark, who first met Tamara Dinius and learned about the Collective during the 2023 Washougal Studio Artists Tour.

“I could see the camaraderie. When you get to this age, you just don’t jump in with certain things. It was very organic, the way it happened for me. I just feel like I hit the jackpot because I came into a situation that I never dreamed of.”

The Collective plans to open its gallery monthly, starting with “Second Friday” events during the summer months, and hopes to eventually feature guest artists.

“When you’re in person, and you can explain why you created something, how you created it,” Tamara Dinius said. “Somebody else will say, ‘I see this in your painting,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I was trying to do.’ There is just a connection. I love sharing my story with people and hearing their stories.”

Westmoreland said that the type of in-person connections she is able to make at a gallery are vital to her art.

“I do very colorful, very whimsical art,” Westmoreland said. “I had some depression problems when I was younger, and (art) took me out of them. Then I wanted to share it and make other people happy. And whenever anyone walks into my area, they say, ‘Wow, it’s wonderful. It’s so bright and happy.’ That makes me feel good. That’s the purpose.”

The Collective is moving forward, but it certainly hasn’t forgotten about Swanson. The artists said they feel Swanson will forever be a member of the Collective, even though she’s no longer with them in the physical world. In fact, her name is literally embedded into the group’s handle; every letter in the word “Adret” stands for the first letter of the first name of the Collective’s founding members.

And they can feel her presence every time they glance at a small, solitary painting of a young woman, which hangs on the back wall of the new studio.

“We have Angela’s favorite painting down there on that wall so we never forget her,” Nagano said. “We miss her to this day. We often think that she’d be proud of us.”