Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Business faculty Phil Seder in upcoming sculptural show set in wine country

Photos and story by James Hill

This summer, business administration instructor Phil Seder is participating in a three-person sculptural show set in the picturesque Yamhill County wine country.

The show, “From the Crucible of Gaia: Forged, Fired and Carved,” brings together the large-form ceramic sculpture of Katy McFadden; the powerful wood techniques of Rick Crawford; and the forged and fabricated metal forms of PCC’s Seder. The event will take place at the Hoichi Kurisu-designed Japanese gardens of Saffron Fields Vineyard.

Guests can tour the tasting room grounds, purchase Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays and reserve seated tastings. Sculptural pieces will be spaced throughout the gardens and tasting room.

Details:

• Dates: August – September
• Times: Daily, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Where: Saffron Fields Vineyard, 18748 NE Laughlin Road, Yamhill, Oregon 97148, 503-662-5323

Seder, who has lived in Africa, Washington D.C. and New York, displays his sculpture work at Miska Studio Gallery in Cannon Beach. He has taught at PCC for the past 17 years and has a master’s degree in business administration from the Columbia Business School and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon.

“I am teamed with two world-class Northwest sculptors who will be displaying work in a stunning vineyard setting,” Seder said. “While not formally trained (at least not in art), I borrow inspiration from my printmaker mother and architect father. My work is often whimsical and figurative, but I also take pride in developing high-craft quality pieces that display the finest workmanship. Much of my work is done on commission, and I welcome inquiries about how I can help develop special work for your garden, home or office.”

Seder teaches within the Business and Entrepreneurship Academic Pathway at PCC. This pathway is for students who see themselves organizing information, improving communication and making business decisions. Seder’s Business Administration Program teaches students who wants to own a business how to launch a career in accounting, transfer to a four-year school of business, or sharpen a specific business skill. It sports a flexible array of classes designed to be completed part-time, full-time, evenings, or weekends.

“My classes are foundational to understanding of business. Some might even claim they are even essential to the understanding of society. The thing I enjoy is the wide variety of students that we teach at PCC. Classes are never the same, and they’re never boring,” said Seder, who teaches “Principles of Marketing” and “Introduction to Business.”