We have plenty of nearby beaches here in Port Townsend, and these are great for a low tide walk in May, and many more on into the summer. Our lovely low “minus” tides come in spring and summer, and we can explore much farther into the intertidal zone to see many more living sea creatures waiting for the sea to return.
Only a few of the photos from the first low tide walk in May: a -3.2 tide at the Indian Island County Park.
In springtime photos shine: reflecting sunlight, holding the rain, or just shining with the color of new growth. Who can resist this? And I cannot resist adding more shine. I return home to tweak, crop, adjust and I hope enhance many of my photos. Of course I am photo mad any time of year, but it is springtime now and the sunshine is so much brighter! The birdsong coaxes me out for longer walks, and there is more to see and photograph.
Above are just a few photos taken in the woods, some enhanced, others not so much. But the opportunities for shine and color are everywhere! Most of my walks are close to home, in the surrounding neighborhoods, but I find new things to catch my eye every day, on every walk. And If I venture downtown, or to the boatyard, the opportunities are boundless.
Digital alterations sometimes make those springtime photos shine more, or sometimes just distract from the original beauty. The viewer must be the judge. I am not sure about the emerald sky, but there it is. And springtime greenery can turn to violent violet purple with one of my favorite digital alterations. I spend far to long “fixing” the digital shine I want to have enhance my photos, rather than overwhelm them.
Sometimes my artworks on paper (drawings, paintings, prints) languish in my flat file drawers, while the scans of the items find homes elsewhere. Scans or photos of my work can be resized, cropped, and recombined, then printed for new uses. These can be incorporated in new collage artworks, or they can be put to more crafty uses for art.
I don’t mind at all when my art is part of a functional object; this is so much more rewarding for me than having it hidden away unseen! And I do “apply” original art directly to furniture, boxes, and more, sometimes.
I love boxes, and I have used my art to transform many containers over the years. This new box is presumably designed as a portable vanity/toiletry box, as it has a hinged mirror inside that props up nicely. It is large enough to hold a hairbrush and assorted related items. Or it could be used as a make up box, for those who use such things…
Here are a few other art boxes I have worked on and gifted away over the years. Some have practical uses, others not so much!
Other crafty uses for art include light fixtures and furniture. Here are a few samples from my household & yard furniture:
Yes, oh! Phone cameras are such a radical shift for the casual photographer. So many possible photos at every step… how can I walk fast enough to get any exercise? And how can deal with all those photos, when I take six just to make sure there are one or two in focus? Stop! Move more slowly: no, not walk more slowly, just stop walking, focus, and take only two photos! Or put that phone in your pocket and walk briskly on by a few fabulous photo opportunities!
Oh! phone cameras make it just to easy: always there a click away! Of course I really love it, yes I love taking photos as a walk around town finding amazing large or tiny scenes.
I have been busy with life, and with only a little time to devote to art recently. Much of my “artwork” recently has been photography. I manage to do a little work in the studio and out & about! My studio work has consisted of a few new beetle people, now molded & cast, a mold & cast of a small but endearing older piece, and lots of digital image manipulation.
I have good intentions for a few different types of beetle habitats, but no start on these. I may just put all my beetles away for a bit, in order to force a new direction. That might work!
There are family events and visits coming up, plus some thoughts of springtime camping next month. So I may not have time for starting any major new art projects. But I hope I move on to more concrete (in both senses of the word!) work this summer. Standing at my computer is not nearly as satisfying as making more substantial art, artwork that I can hold and enjoy in real life! Nor is working at the computer good for my eyes or the rest of my body!
I would like to achieve something a bit more substantial now that my shoulder is less painful and the weather is improving! I want to make work using my tools and my hands, both in the studio and out & about!
Community is something many of us do not get enough of these days, due to all the risks and fears and restrictions of the Covid pandemic. And most artists do benefit from some community with other artists, not just friends and family.
I have lacked this sense of community most of my life. Prior to the pandemic, I had some small sense of an arts community for many years, but this was limited. A small group of friends met weekly to make art. Most of the group did not share my dedication to almost daily art. Rather they enjoyed a more limited commitment, and worked primarily during our two hour weekly meetings. So our sessions were social and the friendship was wonderful, but was not quite satisfying as community with other artists. And our weekly sessions were suspended in 2020.
I suppose that making, of one sort or another, has become something of a passion for me, even when I do not exhibit my work. Some pieces hang in my home & studio, some are gifted, some are simply stored! I do find it hard to use the word “passion” about myself. Like many “Brits”, I was not brought up to acknowledge any passions in a serious way :-)! But my immersion in making is real, and important to me.
Like many artists, I enjoy working alone. I am an introvert, but … introverts still want friends and community. We just need time alone as well, maybe a lot of time alone! But I absolutely enjoy sharing time and conversation with other like minded artists or with supportive members of the arts community. One good reason to show art is to generate contact with others with an interest in art! Friends and family may be wonderfully supportive, but I find that their interest and involvement in my work is limited. So I need to seek out some community with other artists.
Recently an acquaintance I have not seen in years happened on my current art exhibit, and reached out by email to tell me that she enjoyed my work. This was lovely to hear, and we sent a reply or two back and forth. Here is part of my correspondence.
I had an interest and desire to be an artist since I was a child, but only started making art late in life. So I am not tired of it yet. It does help that I have ended my involvement in Northwinds (volunteering) and do not enter juried shows. Juried shows may have helped me early on to start showing my work, but I came to find them crazy making and unpleasant.
Now I don’t think about shows much; this one just fell in my lap when I had a lot of work ready to display. Shows are definitely a source of anxiety, but can be fun when friends are there to help out.
In 2019 I had an open studio, and that was easier because I have high ceilings and hang my work up anyway. So some anxiety and work getting ready cleaning!), but I really enjoyed that weekend. I am hooked on the actual art making part most of the time, but wish I had an assistant or two to help keep my studio in order, or to be on hand when I am in the middle of a tricky process… like the big time artists!
For me it (making art) is still fun, and I keep to minimal ambition and low expectations for sales since I don’t need the money! A little positive feedback goes a long way.
Thank you for reading/listening. Covid has certainly limited my “sharing” with other artists and participants in the art world.
I have been taking and sharing some photos in which I attempt to capture some aspects of Wabi Sabi. I won’t even try to define or clarify the concept here. Instead I will talk about a few of these photos, and some of the feelings & ideas the scenes evoke for me.
In general the photos all create a certain gut reaction that includes a bit of sadness or nostalgia for what has been or what might have been. The colors, the shapes, the light, and the objects themselves all speak to me about time passing, things changing, fading, or lost.
When the scene include man made objects, I look for faded colors, peeling paint, rust, or other patinas from age and weather to display passage of time, and perhaps sadness.
Sometimes recognizable objects will evoke angst, fear, or absence by their nature. An empty chair or a bare tree, speaks of absence or loss. Fallen leaves, faded flowers, and more will bring up memories, sweet or sad. Thorns or wire fences refer to places we cannot go, or maybe a place we could be trapped within.
Shadows and light contribute significantly to any good photo. Long shadows evoke winter and/or evening, and so contribute a sense of time passing.
These images are attempts to capture Wabi Sabi. You may not have same feelings when you look at them. There are so many thoughts about Wabi Sabi photography. If you are interested, join a Facebook group for sharing photos and ideas about Wabi Sabi. I have joined two, and I love many of the images published in both groups. There are many different interpretations of the term and concepts, of course.
I am also enjoying another photography group, Happenstantial Art. Some of the images there have an aspect of Wabi Sabi also.
I will probably continue my attempts to capture Wabi Sabi. So you can expect to see more of these photos featured in my gallery and here.
This post describes two altered wine box artworks currently on display at my exhibit at the Uptown Dental Clinic. I have made several mixed media relief art works using old drawers and boxes. Most of these are fairly small, and can be hung on a wall for display or they can displayed free standing on any flat surface. Some of these include LED lights intrinsic to the artwork.
The Mining Museum is one of the two altered wooden wine boxes that were provided by a local art enthusiast.
I removed one of the two “shelf” fittings for the wine bottles, and cut a circular hole in the center of one short side of the box. This became the top of the art piece.
Then I installed a coil of battery operated tiny LED lights over circular hole. I used one of the glass pieces from a candle stand on top over the lights; this references a old style miner’s lantern. There is one bare “bulb” LED dangling down into the “mine” display that is the main section of this piece.
The miner is a cast in clear resin from a paper clay original that is used in another artwork. The relief sculpture was based on a pencil drawing. I doodled this draped figure originally on scratch brown paper, then found him charming. The sculpted figure & subsequent casts are low relief, that is they are partial figures about 1/4” – 5/8” thick. The miner is clear with a touch of iridescent pearl pigment. I mounted him in the box after I lined it with a poly litho print. I cut and covered foam pieces in order to create the irregular top to the mine.
The miner’s “pick axe” is made from three found nails. I found these rusty nails buried in my yard. They are an old type of square nail. I placed the two metal parts in the scene to evoke machinery used in a mine. I placed a selection of rocks, minerals & made resin pieces in both the mine area and in the lower section of this box.
The lower section represents the museum rock collection display. Museums often display rocks & minerals in lit and mirrored cabinets, so I used pieces of mirror to reflect light in my arrangement.
The second wine box became a piece called “Forest Angel”.
“Forest Angel” is a mixed media dimensional artwork in a painted wooden wine box. The box is lit by a long coiled string of LED rice lights that can be plugged into an outlet or operated by a battery pack. The lights are covered by a translucent material featuring a print of stylized trees.
Forest Angel has similar “ingredients” to the artwork called “The Mining Museum”. The two pieces started with two matching black wine boxes.
Forest Angel features a relief resin “angel” over a 2-dimensional forest. For the Forest Angel I removed one of the sections that held the wine bottles, and cut out the three wine bottle circles that were at one short end of the box. This end became the top of the artwork, and I installed the LED lights above the cut circles to light the inside of the box.
The strong angel figure protects a threatened forest. The angel is translucent rather than clear, and has a very pale greenish tint. I mounted my protective angel over a poly litho print of bare trees under a fuzzy moon. I repeated the moon motif using a tinted clear resin half sphere on the adjacent strip where the forest has been cleared of trees.
So the upper section of the artwork represents an endangered forest and habitat much in need of protection by this angel.
The darker lower section is darker, with a gloomy underground feel. Bright copper coils and pieces with glitter show brightly within. I have placed a mix of natural and man made pieces here. These are intended to catch the eye, and also perhaps to puzzle and disturb the viewer.
I hope this piece is thought provoking, as well as attractive.
These two altered wine box artworks are a bit dark, both visually and in mood. Hence the lighting! Both are intended to engage and also to puzzle you a bit. I hope you enjoy them!
An art exhibit at a dental clinic may sound odd to some readers. But this dental clinic has been exhibiting fine art in Port Townsend for many years. They select high quality, varied work, and schedule 2-3 month long exhibits. Pre-pandemic the clinic hosted wonderful and well catered openings for each new artist. Sadly that is not likely to be an option just now; nonetheless I am honored to hang my work here. I am confident that my solo show at Uptown Dental will be seen and appreciated.
You are welcome to visit without a dental appointment. Visitors are welcome to view the work during business hours, 1-2 at a time, masked. Please plan to check in at the desk to have your temperature taken and to sanitize your hands.
Today I had three willing and wonderful helpers! We hung 33 art works in only 3 hours, in a place with multiple different spaces: long walls, short walls, white, yellow and eggplant colored walls! And we had fun doing it. And we had a lovely coffee break with pastries from Pane d’Amore. Thank you Maureen, Kristian, and Michael!
So let’s talk about the art! I am showing a lot of recent work, along with some “classic” older pieces. My six relief “drawers” are on show, two pieces from my “Mediation: Three Angels” series, two from my “Walking Bones” series, three “Draped Workers”, three abstract monoprints I am proud of, two Crow collages, and much much more! Thirty three artworks are on the walls! You invited to contact me with comments, questions, and of course for purchasing any of these.
I was only able to ready one item from my new digital photo series “The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend”. But I may come back with one more to slip in later, along with some information. TBD!
I have numbered the art works on show, and provided two copies of the numbered list with prices. Most pieces are available for sale. I am fine with payment by 2-4 installments, if that is helpful.
I am delighted to have my solo show at Uptown Dental, and to show so much work for the first time in over two years! Please come to see it.
I have posted a statement about making art, and what it means to me, at the exhibit and here: “About Making Art”. If you are interested in another point of view about my art, see this discussion, Am I a Macabre Artist, with links to an interesting article about this aspect of my work.
UPDATE #1: This exhibit now includes a binder of small prints from my current digital photography series: The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend. This binder is in the clinic waiting area for anyone to browse. Eventually I hope to offer large giclee prints from this series in aid of City street repair.
UPDATE#2: I am delighted that I have had two sales in the first two weeks of this exhibit: one is the mixed media collage “City Crow / Full Moon” at left in the last photo above. The other is the mounted digital collage “Sometimes You Need an Angel”; additional prints, mounted or not, are available for digital works.
For two months now I have had limited use of my left arm. I am recovering, but still being very careful what I do: no strenuous work or heavy lifting! My new series, The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend, has come about through an injury.
Most of my recent art work has been photography, often including plenty of digital enhancement. This led me to a very local project: the series of photos, mostly enhanced or transformed, that I call The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend!
This is not a “fine art” series, but a quick and dirty (potholes are muddy!) and very fun way of showing up, and enjoying the sorry state of Port Townsend streets. But there is art here too. There is unexpected beauty everywhere, even in potholes and puddles!
I am of mixed mind as to the desirability of smooth well paved residential streets: potholes are great for traffic calming, and I would rather see resources better directed. But the current reality is that we do drive, many of us really do rely on our vehicles, with few reasonable alternatives to driving. So many people in Port Townsend are old, and many are infirm; we are not going to take to bicycles at this point in our lives. And younger working parents probably cannot readily readjust their lifestyle to bike to work, etc. That kind of change does not happen overnight.
So some level of street maintenance is badly needed… and is not really happening!
You can find many more of The Surprisingly Artistic Potholes of Port Townsend in my online photo gallery!
