As you probably noticed during the recent artsyF A S H I O N Week, I have a keen interest in the gray areas where art and fashion collide. What we wear and it’s design is such an integrated part of our culture and psyche that it is no surprise that clothes influence art and vice versa.
A Magical Life, steel mesh, plaster, oil and mixed media, 56x30x30
Often in art, clothing is used as a symbol, as a vehicle for deeper thought. This is especially true in the work of New Mexico artist Christina Chalmers. Her sculptures and mixed media pieces are, in her own words, contemplations on the “cloaking and revealing of the inner self”.
Acquaintance of Kelp Forests, kelp, driftwood, vintage silk and lace, 56x41x41
Through her use of organic and weathered found materials, we see an interconnectedness with who we truly are and the self we are projecting out to the world via our appearance.
The Fleeting Things of Time No. 4, mixed media, copper and oil on panel, 60×48Sea Dress II, kelp, shells and steel mesh, 34x25x9
In her sculptures especially, I see this connection between the deconstructed, feminine garments and the found and organic materials that is incredibly intriguing. The texture and patina of the materials are such a striking juxtaposition between the ladylike flowing shape– powerful in their vulnerability. Just like us as women.
What do you think of these? Do you see what I’m seeing or have a different perspective to share?
To see more of Christina Chalmers’ work, visit her page on the Selby Fleetwood Gallery website. If you’re in Santa Fe, you can see her work in person at the gallery. It will definitely be on my list when I finally get to Santa Fe!
Featured image is I am the Root, the Wind and the Bird ( detail ) by Christina Chalmers, mixed media on panel.
Happy Friday, Artsies! If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you have probably noticed that it’s a little painting heavy. Painting as a medium is my first love, ooey-gooey globs of paint on a canvas will always be the first thing to catch my eye. I hate that it seems like sculpture is the red-headed step child of the art world. I do love beautifully rendered sculpture and have vowed to feature it more here. So as I work on some sculptors to feature soon, here’s a round-up of some three dimensional work that I am especially drawn to.
Vanilla Driftwood by Treg Silkwood and Candace Martin, AKA Silkwood GlassSeedpod, Nested by Eric MossPod, burnished earthenware and soluble metal saltsNest by Michael Roco, mixed media
Do you have a favorite 3-d artist? Do tell! Have a fantastic weekend, Artsies! To see more of any of the above sculptors’ work, please visit their websites:
After three months in the cultural dead-zone that is Aberdeen, WA, it feels good to be living in a town with an active arts community. Grants Pass, OR isn’t exactly Portland or Seattle, but it is a welcome change. Last weekend, I was delighted to tour the current show at the Grants Pass Museum of Art , Vibrant Earth, featuring the glass sculptures and tapestries of California artist Deanna Marsh.
Gone Rogue, kiln-formed glass and steel, 36×36
It is really no surprise for artists to be inspired by the Western landscape in all it’s dynamic diversity. Deanna Marsh’s fused glass and metal sculptures capture the essence of the rushing rivers and steep mountain slopes. Recalling the wild spirit that still resides throughout so much of this landscape.
Golden Geodesy, brazilian geode, kiln-formed glass, copper and steel, 48x18x3
Deanna’s work is beautifully wrought and large in size, making her ideal for corporate & healthcare placement ( *hint, hint, to all my art consultant & designer readers!! ).
Accommodating Land by Deanna Marsh, kiln-formed glass and steel, 64×30
So if you happen to be anywhere near Grants Pass, Oregon, A) Let’s have coffee! and B) visit the Grants Pass Museum of Art before September 30th to see the work of this talented artist in person. If you can’t see it in person, please make sure you visit the artist’s website to view more of her work.
Featured image is Choose Your Path by Deanna Marsh. All images are courtesy of the artist’s website.
What separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize!
— Clairee Belcher, Steel Magnolias
Just as accessories are the icing on an outfit’s cake, so this round up will be the icing on the cake of artsyF A S H I O NWeek! Some wearable, some not, all fun!
Shell, mosaic shoe by Candace BahouthBroach by Tatiana WarenichovaRaspberry by Ana HagopianMy Laundrette by Sharla Valeski
Kicking off artsyF A S H I O NWeek here at Artsy Forager! Fashion and art have long been intertwined. For centuries, artists have, perhaps at times unwittingly, been the recorders of the history of fashion and style. It is in thanks to artwork that we can track what was worn by whom hundreds of years ago. Paintings weren’t just art, but were the fashion magazines and blogs of their day. For instance, thanks to Vermeer, we see a glimpse of the difference in the daily costume of the classes in a Mistress and Maid.
Mistress and Maid by Johannes Vermeer, c. 1666-1667
Today’s artists seem to have a bit more freedom to interpret instead of record. Fashion is such an integral part of our modern culture, it is no surprise that it still holds a fascination for contemporary artists. For some artists, the fashions themselves are worthy focal points. Denver artist Roxanne Rossi elevates a simple dress’s silhouette into an artistic statement, a sculptural fashion plate, clean but heavy in texture, it seems like it could come to life at any moment.
Afternoon Delight by Roxanne Rossi, acrylic, 36×60
Sometimes the fashion media becomes a literal component to a piece of fashion-influenced art, such as in the collage work of Melbourne, Florida artist Derek Gores. His imagery has the composition of a Vogue magazine spread and the collaged photos, magazine, labels, etc give each piece a painterly depth.
All Summer Long by Derek Gores, mixed media collage
Painter Kelly Reemtsen uses the constraints of mid-century era mindsets about fashion and juxtaposes them with garden tools and hardware, producing visual statements about the expectations placed on women, by themselves and the world at large.
Throwback by Kelly Reemtsen, oil on panel, 36×36
Celebrating the female form, both physically and spiritually, Leigh Pennebaker’s wire sculptures reveal designs that are sensuous and soft, despite their industrial materials.
Madeline by Leigh Pennebaker, wire sculpture
Like many fashion-forward artists, Megan Cosby began with an interest in fashion design, but decided she was more interested in the people themselves and what their style said about their personality, who they are, where they’ve been and where they are going.
Better by Megan Cosby, mixed media on canvas, 14×12
And then there’s the smart and cheeky work of Sarah Ashley Longshore, at once playing homage and poking fun to our culture’s obsession with fashion. I’ve featured her Audrey Hepburn paintings several times on the blog, but she also has this fabulous series focused on fashion and pop culture.
Trophy Wife Junk Drawer by Sarah Ashley Longshore, acrylic and high gloss reisn on canvas, 48×72
More fashiony-artsy goodness to come this week! Stay tuned.
Featured image is Major Poontang by Sarah Ashley Longshore.
Remember cutting out paper snowflakes in elementary school? These Friday Faves have elevated paper cut-outs to the ultimate artistic level. You know, school supplies are on sale right now.. let these artists inspire you to create your own stationary masterpieces!
Feather Mountain by Lena Wolff and Jaime Knight, paper collage with iridescent oil stick, varnish, mica and hole punchIcosahedron II by Richard Sweeney, paper and adhesiveNight Mare by Annawili Highfield, Ink, archival cotton paper, cotton thread, copper pipe, timber blockDissociations by Karen Margolis, abaca paper
Be sure to check out each artist’s website for more amazing paper creations! Have a great weekend, Artsies!
It’s been such a grey, gloomy week here in North Florida, that I thought we could all do with a little sunshine! Maribel Angel’s work never fails to make me smile. Maribel grew up in a Spanish speaking family and their influence definitely comes through in the vitality and liveliness of her work.
Maribel’s work tells a story, one that comes from within her own imagination and world of dreams. A place filled with festive color, galloping horses, flying bunnies and fanciful birds.
As Maribel’s work symbolically explores the effects of layers of time and history, so her treatment of her mediums are often a layering of paper, images, paint, text and symbols.
It is in these details that Maribel’s graphic design background comes through. Not only in the use and placement of text, but also in the juxtapositions of color and pattern. Actually, I’ve always thought she could be a very successful textile designer. I would totally buy a fabric or wallcovering in the design of “Bohemian Blossom” ( pictured below ), wouldn’t you? I’m picturing a this on a full skirt with a crisp white shirt and floppy straw hat!
So, Maribel Angel.. Painter-Graphic Designer-Future Textile Designer ( if I had my way! ).. let’s see, any other hyphenates to describe this multi-talented artist? Oh, that’s right–she’s also a sculptor!!
Maribel takes found objects and gives them new life in her assemblages and I must admit, I find every one of these “Cuckoos Nest” birds absolutely charming. Seriously, I’ve never met one I didn’t completely fall for. Maribel was sweet enough to give me a wonderful miniature guy and it is one of my favorite possessions.
I love it when an artist’s work causes me to do a double take. When I spotted the ceramic sculptures of Anne Goodrich amongst the work at Guardino Gallery in Portland, I almost passed them by. From afar, they just seemed like botanical ceramics, which would likely just have elicited a “nice” from me. But upon closer inspection, I saw that these were something more.
Wall 10
These beautifully formed ceramics, in their soft pastels and rich earth tones play a delightful little trick on the mind. At first glance, you may think you know what you’re seeing– Oh, pretty seashell, no wait, flower, no wait, gourd.. snail? alien? What is it?!
7A
It is in the ambiguity that Goodrich’s work finds its simple, sweet power. We aren’t sure exactly what these forms are, but even still, they speak to us. They are achingly familiar, like the face of a stranger who reminds us of a long lost friend.
Wall 4
They may remind us of forms that exist inside our own bodies. Or of organisms surrounding us, both seen and unseen.
Nest 1 by Anne Goodrich
Whatever they are, I want to bring one home, give it a name, let it speak to me and discover its mysteries.
To see more of Anne Goodrich’s work, please visit her website. If you’re lucky enough to be in or near Portland, OR, you can see her work in person at Guardino Gallery in the Alberta Arts District.
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 #91Lamelliform #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.
PDX is slang for Portland, apparently. I kept seeing it everywhere in Portland this weekend and being from Florida, of course had no idea what it meant. Was it some sort of secret code? Some inside joke only super-hip Portlandians knew about? Nope, just Portland’s airport code, which has become short for Portland, just like JAX is short for my hometown of Jacksonville. I must admit, I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t some sort of subversive meaning to PDX, at least not one I could find on Google.
After a month in the Northwest, George & I finally made the 2 1/2 hour drive from Aberdeen, WA to Portland last Saturday. We’ve already hit a couple of smaller artsy destinations nearby ( Olympia, WA & Astoria, OR ), but finally worked our way up to the mac-daddy of them all, Portland. The home of hip. We were only in Portland for the day, so decided it would be best to limit ourselves to one section of the city. So we chose The Pearl District, for its galleries for me and its proximity to Powell’s Books, Stumptown Coffee & Rogue Brewery for George. I try to make sure that when I drag him gallery-hopping, there is always the promise of beer. This makes for a much happier husband.
Work by David Slader at Gallery 903
Gallery 903 was filled with contemporary painting, sculpture and mixed-media work. I can usually tell the minute I walk into a gallery whether or not I’m going to enjoy my visit and find artists to blog about. As soon as I saw wonderfully textured abstracts and thoughtfully placed sculpture, I knew Gallery 903 was a good stop. The work of the artist above, David Slader, got George’s attention before than mine. Slader is a former high-powered attorney turned artist and after reading his tongue-in-cheek artist statement, I had a better appreciation for him. His work has deep texture , a powerful palette and expression. Here’s an even better shot of “You Want to Dance”, that gallerist Herschel was nice enough to email me..
You Want to Dance, Oil on canvas, 24×24
This was just the first of the delights to be found at 903. While George continued to admire the Sladers, I rounded the corner and happily came across a little niche and what was to be found there? Some thrilling little Salvador Dali prints!
Salvador Dali prints at Gallery 903
Complimenting the Dalis in the same little space were two epoxy-resing pieces by Alan Fulle. One of my favorite things about working in a gallery was designing & creating tableaus of artwork that coordinate together in unexpected ways. Virtual congrats to whomever hung the work in this gallery.
I absolutely loved this bronze geese sculpture! George wasn’t quite as enamored. What’s not to love about lovey-dovey, fat bronze geese? I mean, really, how could you not love them?! Oh well, moving on..
Augen Gallery had two interesting exhibitions showing, the first, work by Wendy Franklund Miller– I am a sucker for encaustics. There is just something about that waxy texture that I adore.
Artist: Wendy Franklund Miller, Augen Gallery
The kind-of cosmic feel to Franklund Miller’s work was a great complement to their other exhibition, Light Drawings by James Minden.
Artist: James Minden, Augen Gallery
These “light drawings” are scratched/etched PETG ( plastic ) reflecting light. They are totally trippy in the best sense. We had so much fun looking at these from all different angles. Check out this slide show to see better photos than I could have taken: James Minden on Vimeo.
Continuing the equestrian kick I seem to be on lately, Froelick Gallery happened to be showing Equine, a juried group exhibition showcasing the horse. A diverse showing of work centered around our four-legged friends, it was fun to see the variety of interpretations, including a plate from the famous MuybridgeAnimal Locomotion series. George was drawn to the work of Miles Cleveland Goodwin, which while beautifully rendered, was a bit on the dark side for my tastes. I love how the differences in our tastes spark lively discussion!
Artist: Miles Cleveland Goodwin, Froelick Gallery
I, on the other hand, fell in love with the giant below. White Shadow by Rick Barstow is pastel on paper, 74″ long and it is fabulous. I’m not sure what I love more, the lovely layering of the pastel, the unfinished, sketchy-quality or the scribbled “HORSES” at the bottom. It’s all workin’ for me. Or maybe it is that the straight-on gaze of the horse reminds me of an illustration of a story my grandmother used to read me as a little girl, The Goose Girl.
Artist: Rick Barstow, Froelick Gallery
Our next stop, Bullseye Gallery has a kick-a$$ space. Two levels, full of exposed brick and metal work, rustic wood and these amazing little installation rooms. I got so caught up in admiring my surroundings that I failed to take many pictures. I know, bad little blogger. The gallery is part of Bullseye Glass Company, maker of colored glass for art & architecture. Oh, that explains why there was so much incredible art glass!
Our final destination was Butters Gallery. Are ya’ll tired yet? Because I sure was by this point in the day. ( We’d also hit the Saturday Market, Stumptown Coffee, Powell’s Books and Rogue, in addition to all the galleries. ) Butters reminded me of some of the Chelsea galleries in NYC, as it was kind of hidden away, on the 2nd floor of a walk-up building.
Artist: Susan Hall, Butters Gallery
Butters had some really interesting work on display, I hope to bring you more on those artists very soon, especially the one whose work is pictured above, Susan Hall. I fell head over heads for her work– my crappy picture doesn’t even begin to do it justice. I’ll feature her more in depth in a separate post in the next few weeks.
So ends our little jaunt through Portland’s Pearl District galleries. I can’t wait to go back to PDX and explore the other art districts. This weekend we’re headed North!
