Story-telling: Part One

Over the years, my hands have explored a brilliant spectrum of surfaces, textures, and forms. They have dove into emotion, action, and reflection. All of it spawning from story.

My first encounter with art-making came to me at 7, fresh out of my last hospital stay with asthma. That day, I went back to my safe place, where I would always wander. With just some metal clips, sticks, glue, and paper, I had my first kinetic sculpture..other-wise known as a windmill. I still have no answer to my parents for where I came up with the idea. Perhaps artists are simply mediums for materials.

 

Recently, my work has found itself discovering a higher intent...that the purpose of art-making is simply to tell a story.

In the world of plaster artistry, I often get calls from clients who are going through an important mark in their life..a birth, a graduation, a desire to have beauty after tragedy. It's always an honor to create. Starting in one room and going to the next. Stroke after stroke, I watch my client's outlook transform.

This year has delighted me with an abundance of opportunities to not only to create beauty in spaces, but also use my skills to illuminate and preserve a family's legacy through glass.

 My client, Ted Lagreid, comes from a rich line of sculptural talent. Either through building the observation tower at Mt. Constitution on Orcas Island or constructing the stone pillars at the Woodland Park Zoo Rose Garden, both his father and grandfather were master stone masons.  Taking the best earthen artifacts and placing these forms and textures for all to enjoy was something that they were driven to do.

In honor of the Lagreid family, I am creating a series of casted glass hearts. This heart shape was generated from a mold I made off of a very precious rock from one of the pillars at the Woodland Park Zoo Rose Garden, another sacred site from my client's ancestry.

As I continue to use my own hands and skills to transform and capture this history, I realize I am beginning to tell my own personal narrative about the importance of texture in our lives.

As time passes, technology quickens its pace. Objects and processes continue to be faster and smoother. If the towers and pillars that the Lagreids constructed nearly a century ago would have been built today, they would probably be erected in record time...but would they have been sculpted with the same amount of love, care, and patience?

....Here's to the blessing and gift to tell story through texture!

Gifted

The spirit of art-making sparked early this holiday season and glowed bright.

During Thanksgiving, I was inducted into the tribe of the Sophie-zombies...what an honor it was to be painted by my gifted niece!

I came back and sank myself right into my first art residency at Vala Art Center .

My objective was to inspire public art-making by creating a "pop-up" activity space where anyone can come experience mold-making, casting, or perhaps paint! Yes, it is the holiday season where felt and silk parade with light,...but why not come clean and leave a bit dirty with a pocket full of ideas!?

The highlight of my time at VALA was gift-giving. Anyone that dared to roll up their sleeves and make a mold of their hand were invited. Dental alginate is a safe, easy to use material to make quick molds from. It's body part friendly too, so kids of all ages can play. Unbound curiousity with just enough mad science.

One minute cake batter, jello next. Then wax. Once everyone removed their hands from the molds, I poured melted beeswax into the voids. Viola! the wax hardens, molds uncrack, and so does the art! Ah Ha!

Mold-making is a foundation for casting in wax and other materials. My favorite is glass, which is  casted into molds by melting it in a kiln or furnace. I currently teach kiln-casting at Pratt Fine Art Center in Seattle, and am planning on teaching glass casting on the eastside. Contact me if you are interested in taking a class!

 

There was a buzz happening. There were no visitors, only participants. I really enjoyed watching Redmond Town Center transform from a marketplace to a community space. VALA gave it just the right pulse.

As both my residency and 2013 close, I'm excited about growing my local arts community. I deeply appreciate the work of the VALA staff for making this happen. Seeing the city of Redmond and businesses support local arts programs has invigorated my own commitment to teach and share ideas with my community. I learned just how hungry people are to use their hands and make. The look of wow and wonder when you discover....your own gifts.

Wishing YOU creativity in 2014!

ART HUB

Welcome Back!!

I just arrived from Pilchuck Glass School. This is a hidden gem in the woods where the uber-famous have studied, experimented, and manipulated all kinds of materials, namely glass. Dale Chihuly and team founded this beautifully secluded spot in the 70's. Even today, you can escape and immerse yourself with a community of artists by taking an "art-cation", in which the temporality of your experience there can last a lifetime.

 

While immersed in the campus culture, I enjoyed meeting and networking with skilled professionals and teachers. My journal is filled with ideas and new methods and I can't wait to share them with my local creative comrads!

 

What is a dream and reality is that art-making should be a daily, weekly, and monthly practice. There is no need to "escape" if you dedicate yourself to your work and your place. Travel through the stroke of a brush, a hand dipped in plaster, or perhaps a slide to the right-left-right.

An "art-hub" is "home"...where you connect with other people on your block, who also share your passion for making and movement. Your creative energy is simply accessed by walking in and getting to work!

Find an "art-hub" in your community. No matter if you are young or old, rich or poor...creating your works of art is just as important as anyone else who has had the chance to shine!

 

 

 

 

Here are some of my favorite local art-hubs!
Vala Eastside Art Center
Pratt Fine Art Center
Bellevue College
Velocity Dance Center
Plaster Workshops @ Stucco Italiano