When Mark and Helmi Came to Visit (12 in x 36 in)

(no longer in inventory)

Part I: I have loved Mark Tobey's white writing since I first saw a photograph of one if his paintings with this element. Before my friend, Margo, moved from Seattle, we went to SAM to see an exhibit of the Northwest Mystical Artists. I studied and studied his work, but left, appropriately, mystified. I so wanted to be able to create using white writing.

Part II: Last summer, when my friends Mary Jane and Grace came to visit, we went to an exhibit at the Lightcatcher of Helmi Juvonan's work. She had been completely in love with Mark Tobey, who she knew, to the point of creating a story about that love. She, too used a white mark-making technique in compositions surrounding in dark. I was still mystified as to technique.

Part III: Answer the question: which comes first, the dark or the light? How does the artist maintain the white marks while moving in the darkness? I did the only thing that, at the time, I could think to do--I called in Mark and Helmi. Then I started playing with a technique I remembered that I knew how to do--I could make the light marks rise above the dark. So I used a thick coat of gesso, mixed in the teeniest bit of perfect grey to grey the gesso down a bit. Then I used stamping tools. I had recently acquired the plastic button cover of a fax machine and loved the shapes it made. I used the spiral and serpentine arm band Christina had given me, and parts of parts to other equipment that had come my way. I am always intrigued by and, therefore, examining ancient texts and writing of other languages. I like it when letters from those languages appear in the painting--I do not want to copy them, however, mostly because I am interested in connecting with the human need to write, to communicate, and to connect to that need more intuitively. Once the foundation layer was dry, I floated in dark grey. a little violet, a little blue green. I did a little sand-paper scratching and then patina-ed it with azo gold quinacridone nickel. I look forward to many more visits from Mark and Helmi.

Note: This painting is one that hangs well in the horizontal or vertical orientation.

RustEcology Mythology: The Rules and The Guardian of Rust

Artist's Statement for RustEcology Mythology: The Rules and Guardian of Rust

Once upon a time humans could have altered the course of their technology rush, their building boom, their destruction in the name of construction and progress. The clarion call of scientists and ecologists could have been heeded. It was not. In this scenario, the ice melted, waters rose. Rust rode the waves to rule the land. Crumbled detritus became the impetus for what has so often happened in human history: a mythology emerged to explain events and existence. In Post-Apocalyptic times this is known as RustEcology Mythology. Its basic tenets are represented here in this diptych.

It started when I got the message to create something about the environment. All of these rusty bits were findings, by several different friends, on beaches, mountain paths, old barns, holes that must be dug, and the rusty, no-longer-operable kick-stand in Amsterdam (anchoring the lower left of the diptych). So much rust in our environment. And it is beautiful even as it is trash. The ceramic bits are a broken replica of a pre-Columbian mask also donated by a friend, the same one who brought me the "guardian" and all the rusty, long nails I shoved under the "tablet." It seemed fitting that these are together in a composition--the then and the now. I chose to hold it all together compositionally with the texturing material I use--a mix of lightweight spackle and gel medium. Painted with acrylics in blues and greens and violets, with some micaceous iron oxide mixed in, and a fabulous paint called quinacridone nickel/azo gold which had the rust tones to it, on the top of the texture.

I had the idea that this diptych represents a new mythology, a "RustEcology Mythology," that perhaps arose in some future generation that was looking for a way to justify all the rust in our environment. Rust takes on a life of its own--the proof is in those amazingly fascinating photographs of the Titanic, for instance.

This diptych is on two wood panels that measure 24 inches by 36 inches with an inch and a half profile from the wall. Together, they weigh under 20 lbs (guessing).

Lightcatcher of the Whatcom Museum

The Lightcatcher is a fabulous addition to the Whatcom Museum. This building is for exhibiting fine arts, and it houses what is known as "FIG," or the children's museum. the current exhibition at the Lightcatcher, "Out of Bounds," is the art collection of two wonderful people, Driek and Michael Zirinsky.

I know Driek and Michael from my years at Boise State University. Michael was one of my teachers in the "History of Eastern Civilization" class (his area of expertise--History of the Middle East), and Driek was my mentor as I went through the English Secondary Education program. I certainly could not have made it through as gracefully without her guidance. And now, our paths cross again, in Bellingham, in the art world.

Driek and Michael have collected art from around the world and some mighty stunning pieces are displayed at the Lightcatcher:

Jeppe Hein "Fire Drawings" are mandalas created from the scorchings of a torch.

Chris Gilmore's "Lambretta" is the incredibly detailed motorcycle constructed of cardboard.

Lead Pencil Studio's Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo created "Inversion" to pay with solid and void and can also be viewed from above.

Cheryl Sturtleff's home-structions tell a compelling story of structure and emotion.

Susie J. Lee in "Fugue State" projects shadows of hands portraying varying stages of human relationship through handcast resin.

Long-Bin Chen sculpts faux stone heads from recycled books in "China Can Say No Again" and "Damoh" (from telephone books).

Ala Ebtekar has reverently painted "Ascension Buraq" with Tanka clouds and missiles on pages of an Islamic prayer book.

And then there is Enrique Chagoya's "Codex" an incredible book, a copy of which can be purchased at the gift store, "Endurance" footage of Shackleton's adventure in the Antarctic with penguins and pick axes projected on a tooth. Look for a painting with Medusa seeing her reflection as a smiley face. Definitely the gamut of emotions as one travels from the profound to the whimsical. The breath stopper, though, is Hung Liu's "September" a painting in process in 2001 with a Chinese woman in elaborate headdress and a peace crane juxtaposed. I wished for a bench to sit on to ponder this painting further.

The Zirinskys also own a couple of pieces created by John Grade, who has an installation in the Lightcatcher called "Bloom: The Elephant Bed." This cannot be explained. There's ink. There's paper. There are counterbalanced weights. There's binding that's corn-based to dissolve in Bellingham Bay waters. There's white. There's black.

So I bought a membership. It had to be done. Been there three times. Will be there again February 7 when John Grade comes to the Lightcatcher to speak about his work. There are a lot of people to thank for the existence of this fine art museum. I thank them all. And I thank Driek and Michael for sharing their art adventures with us 'hamsters.