Right next to the Oxford Hotel in downtown Bend is the High Desert Gallery. Big glass windows showcase the more than 20 artists they represent. Owner Myrna Dow opened the gallery in 1999, along with her framing store. She says she enjoys choosing the perfect frames for the pieces that hang in the gallery.

The focus of the High Desert Gallery is predominantly artists from the Northwest, especially Central Oregon. Every month a different artist from their represented artists has the "featured" spot near the front windows. The gallery represents at least four artists who have been featured on Oregon Art Beat: Jody Katopothis, Paul Alan Bennett, Cary Weigand and Jay Chester "Skip" Armstrong. Dow says she enjoys hanging each show and deciding which pieces should be next to each other. The gallery includes painting, glass, jewelry, ceramics and other three-dimensional art.

Dow lights up when she talks about art, and how much she enjoys connecting artists with visitors to the gallery. She changes her featured show to coincide with First Friday in Bend, and welcomes visitors to the gallery year round.

You can see features on the High Desert Gallery, Bend blacksmith Joe Elliott and many others on this week's Oregon Art Beat.

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