artsy forager

Tag: organic

  • Inherent Abstractions of the Natural World: Haley Farthing

    Inherent Abstractions of the Natural World: Haley Farthing

    The moment I walked through the doors of Davis & Cline in Ashland, I fell hard for the work of Haley Farthing.  Immediately, they drew me in, I had to take a closer look.  What exactly was I seeing?  Her palette is so subtle, the shapes so fluid, these are works that are best examined at close range.

    Pulse, pastel and ink on wood, 48×24

    For Haley, “abstraction and ambiguity of a subject is much more powerful when it is a part of it’s inherent nature”.  She takes organic subjects, such as driftwood, plants, etc and magnifies the view, creating a perspective that highlights their intrinsic abstraction.

    Constant, pastel on wood, 24×12

    Her limited, neutral palette allows the texture and pattern of these natural materials to be showcased and celebrated.  Mere leaves appear to be angel’s wings or folds of rich satin flowing from the bodies of ancient Greeks.  She constructs her work in such a way that these organic forms take on classical compositions.  While allowing the grain of the wood surface to show through reminds us that these are earthly manifestations, their beauty inherent in their creation.

    Untitled, pastel and ink on wood, 9×12
    Growth, pastel and ink on wood, 48×24

    Please take the time to check out more of Haley Farthing’s work on her website.  Her Out of the Woods show can be seen at Davis & Cline until November 26th.  It is a beautiful, inspiring show– I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in Southern Oregon.

    Featured image is Nestle, pastel and ink on wood, 60×24.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Elegant Embodiments: David Engdahl

    Elegant Embodiments: David Engdahl

    I have not tried to reproduce nature, I have represented it.

    — Paul Cezanne

    Never where these words more true than in the work of sculptor, David Engdahl.  The former architect has been shaping wood to create beautiful sculptures for over twenty years.  Inspired by the forms in the environment surrounding his home in north Florida, Engdahl takes his cue from organic shapes, simplifying or exaggerating them to create elegant embodiments of the natural world.

    Lamelliform 128

    Using plywood, a mechanically manipulated natural material to create these organically inspired sculptures creates a dynamic tension between the material and inspiration source.  By taking a normally lower level type of wood source and creating spledid sculptures, Engdahl is not only taking something “ugly” and making it beautiful, but also hearkening back to the wood’s original forms.

    Lamelliform #91
    Lamelliform #21

    The beauty in nature is all around us.  But we rarely notice it, much less ponder it.  Engdahl’s work may help us recall the glimpse of  antlers in the woods, the shadow of a sea turtle making its way across the surface of the deep or the swaying of thin branches in the breeze.

    Lamelliform #200

    He brings nature and artifice together in a way that reminds us that they can work together to reveal the best in each.

    To see more of David Engdahl’s work online, visit his website. Be sure to check out this wonderful video in which the artist explains his creative process and give you a glimpse inside his home studio.  If you’re in the North Florida area, stop by Studio 121 at 121 W. Forsyth Street in downtown Jacksonville, where he will be the featured artist, August through October.

    Featured image is Lamelliform #194.  All images are courtesy of the artist’s website.