Nicholsloy Studio collection

Sandra and Dave Nichols (who use the pseudonyms “sloy” and “nic”) are Salem, Oregon artists who together comprise Nicholsloy Studio. Sandra was born in 1943 in Bellingham, Washington and grew up in Everett, Washington. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in English and Master of Arts degree in Teaching and Education from Western Oregon University and also earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Poetry from the University of Oregon. Dave was born in 1947 in Salem, Oregon. He took courses in life drawing, painting, printmaking, and ceramics at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon in the late 1970s. Before deciding to become an artist at age 33, Dave worked in lumber mills, built walk-in coolers and refrigerators, and painted houses. He is primarily a self-taught artist and honed his craft through experimentation and experience.

Sandra and Dave met at Chemeketa Community College in the late 1970s when Sandra was a faculty member who taught English and Creative Writing and Dave was a student. They married on June 17, 1984, in South Lake Tahoe, California. Their relationship permeates through their creative process as they often work together to make their art. They create work individually as “nic” and “sloy” and also collaboratively as Nicholsloy Studio.

Nicholsloy Studio’s work combines found objects, including intricately designed cardboard pieces, and written words or phrases to create imaginative and visually stunning pieces. Sandra is a poetry and poetic-fiction writer who arranges her written work in drawings, paintings, and canvas sculpture. Dave creates recycled cardboard sculptures, games, jewelry, musical instruments, and puzzles as well as oil paintings and colored pencil drawings. As artists, videographers, and collectors of art and zines, they are key figures in Salem, Oregon’s underground art scene.

sloy and nic have been featured in individual and group exhibitions in Oregon and Washington, including the Bush Barn Art Center, Chemeketa Community College Art Gallery, the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. Their works can be found in public and private collections throughout the United States, including the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry in Miami, Florida.

Sandra and Dave Nichols currently reside in Salem, Oregon, where their home serves as a gallery and studio.