Ballard: Jameson Hubbard, January 2012

 

www.jshubbard.com

jshubbard@gmail.com

Phinney: Angie Heinrich , January 2012

Mosaics

I create contemporary mosaics for gallery, architectural, and home settings. I take pride in staying true to traditional laying techniques dating back 5000 years; however, I do utilize modern technology for the fabrication of substrates and adhesives to improve the durability of my work.

 

My creative process usually begins with a sketch that is often influenced by the rhythm and symmetry of Greek and Moroccan art and architecture. I precisely shape and set each mosaic piece (tessera) using traditional opus styles, producing deliberate andamento—the sense of movement and rhythm created by the grout lines. Once the setting is complete, I use colored cement to grout the piece, giving it a unified and finished look.

 

My studies have drawn me to masters around the US, Spain, and Italy, and have instilled in me a pride of workmanship and technique, whether modern or ancient. I gather only the finest material for my work, from around the world: Italian smalti, a classical mosaic material; 24k gold; marble; vitreous glass; hand-painted glass; and beads.

Artist Statement

I find the creation of each work a meditative and cathartic way of working with my hands. I take pride in the work that I do and I hope to educate the public about this ancient art form and to increase public appreciation for hand-crafted artwork. I also hope to bring the joy of spirit I feel during the creation of each piece to the home of others.

Member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists

Phinney: The Artists of the Zimbabwe Artists Project, December 2011

Art from Weya, Zimbabwe

Weya is a “communal area’ – agriculturally marginal land set aside by white settlers for blacks during the days when the country was called Southern Rhodesia – in the eastern part of Zimbabwe.

The artists of Weya have been creating art only since the late 1980s.  They asked for art instruction from a training project, seeking to increase their ability to support their families.  Their artistic themes come from their history, current experience, aspirations and beliefs.  Their work has won a number of national prizes.

Four different techniques are used by the artists: painting on boards and other hard surfaces; painting on fabric (called “sadza painting” after the cornmeal paste used as a resist in the batik process); appliqué: and embroidery. All techniques may not be represented here due to space constraints.

A great majority of the artists are women.  Most of them are farmers in a subsistence economy.  They use whatever income they make from their art to supplement the fruits of their works in the fields.

Weya is remote from Zimbabwe’s urban centers, with difficult roads and poor communication.  This remoteness, along with the competition from urban street artists in increasingly difficult economic times, makes it impossible for the artists to sell much of their work inside Zimbabwe.  When they do sell their work they are able to pay school fees for their children, buy necessities in lean economic times, upgrade their diets, etc.

Becoming artists has given these women a new sense of themselves as creative people.  It has broadened their sense of the boundaries of women’s roles in rural Zimbabwe.

We came to know these artists as host mothers and neighbors to Lewis and Clark College students studying in Zimbabwe.  Our commitment is to help create a steady flow of income into their households by making their art available to people in North America.  Money from sales of Zimbabwe Artists Project pieces has thus far enabled women to buy fertilizers at crucial times in the agricultural cycle, pay school fees to help keep their children in school, enroll in teacher training college, seek otherwise unaffordable medical attention, and enhance the quality of their everyday lives.

Zimbabwe Artists Project
107 SE Washington Street, Suite 162
Portland, OR 97214
Phone: (503) 232-7057
www. zimbabweartistsproject.org

Zimbabwe Artists Project is a non-profit tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Service Code.  We believe in and abide by fair trade principles.

Ballard: Kathy Liao, November 2011

 

My creativity is fueled by direct observation.  My work is driven by the fascination with perceptual and visual experience of light and space.  I am constantly seeking new ways to create an illusionistic space through an exploration of of lines, shapes, color and through the visceral act of painting, scraping and collaging materials.  I draw upon images of the people, objects, and places that I observe and identify with on a personal level.  Specifically, I am drawn to experiences that tap into my cultural identity.  These images and ideas are given substance and transformed through my painting and printmaking practices.

In particular, this series of work are done this past summer during a residency on the beautiful Massachusetts North Shore area.  I was chasing tides and lights with easel and paints, trying to absorb every minute of the glow of summertime.  I stayed on Rocky Neck, where artists such as Milton Avery and Stuart Davis frequented in the past.  There is definitely something unique in the air that captures the imagination of these masters.

My work leading up to now has slowly led me away from traditional oil on canvas medium to my new fascination with paper and objects.   Regardless of whether I fabricate a large print installation or small paintings on canvas, to create and understand light, space, and color will always be paramount in my work.  I draw and create with my hand, and I think through the visceral act of cutting and tearing, re-arranging and collaging.

Best,
Kathy Liao
www.kathyliao

Phinney: Margaret and Kurt Vance, November 2011

 

Kurt and Margaret got together while at Garfield High School. They were both intrigued with the ‘hand made’ and bent on exploring the paths of creative expression. They have proceeded to explore many avenues, Margaret primarily in the world of fibers (you may have seen her miniature flying animals on display at local arts festivals). Kurt discovers new and ancient symmetries through drawing, woodcarving, block printing and bookmaking. They have recently begun an extended dialogue through PaperCutting.
They have raised three lovely children in Seattle, and now have one lively granddaughter.

Artists’ Statement

Using humble Origami paper and sharp knives we explore the patterns of our longings and the joy in our connectedness to the world. By cutting away space, light is liberated to shine through, revealing the intricate traceries of life’s exuberance and the pathways of our desire. Simple forms blossom and transform into ever more beguiling images as we play with the contrasts of space and not-space.

Ballard: Angie Heinrich, October 2011

Mosaics

I create contemporary mosaics for gallery, architectural, and home settings. I take pride in staying true to traditional laying techniques dating back 5000 years; however, I do utilize modern technology for the fabrication of substrates and adhesives to improve the durability of my work.

 

My creative process usually begins with a sketch that is often influenced by the rhythm and symmetry of Greek and Moroccan art and architecture. I precisely shape and set each mosaic piece (tessera) using traditional opus styles, producing deliberate andamento—the sense of movement and rhythm created by the grout lines. Once the setting is complete, I use colored cement to grout the piece, giving it a unified and finished look.

 

My studies have drawn me to masters around the US, Spain, and Italy, and have instilled in me a pride of workmanship and technique, whether modern or ancient. I gather only the finest material for my work, from around the world: Italian smalti, a classical mosaic material; 24k gold; marble; vitreous glass; hand-painted glass; and beads.

Artist Statement

I find the creation of each work a meditative and cathartic way of working with my hands. I take pride in the work that I do and I hope to educate the public about this ancient art form and to increase public appreciation for hand-crafted artwork. I also hope to bring the joy of spirit I feel during the creation of each piece to the home of others.

Member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists

Angie Heinrich
Zetamari Mosaic Artworks
www.zetamari.com
angie@zetamari.com

Phinney: Pam Robinson, October 2011

http://pameladurgarobinson.artspan.com/

Ballard: Megan Noel, September 2011

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” ~Henry Ward Beecher

Megan Noel is a painter, illustrator, textile and mixed media artist working in the Northwest. For many years she has been known for her beadwork, but in recent years has chosen to focus more on her equally intricate painting and illustrations.

Her favorite media are watercolor and pen and ink. Her paintings and illustrations range from dreamy and surreal to delicate and whimsical. She seeks not to create masterpieces to grace the walls of museums, but rather to create smaller more intimate works to fit into the lives of readers and writers, poets and dreamers, mother, fathers, and everyday folk.

Megan has shown her artwork locally and nationally in various galleries and other venues, including: Mesolini & Amici , Turtle Press, The Artists Tree, BKB & Company, The Artifactory, Gallery Ten, The International Bead and Button Show, the National Button Convention, North Seattle Community College and Beads and Beyond.

Megan has published artwork and articles on art and creativity, including “how-to” articles in a number of magazines including Belle Armoire, Somerset Studio, Bead and Button, Beadwork, Legacy, Soft Doll and Animal, and others.

Her work has appeared in several books including Bead Embellishment by Robin Atkins, Creating Cloth Dolls by Marthe Le Van, and 500 Beaded Objects, published by Lark Books.

When she is not creating, Megan can be found in Ballard, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Seattle, the traditionally Scandinavian part of the city, where her family has lived for over 100 years.

Megan gets her inspiration from nature, vintage beadwork, mythology, and literature. Her inspiration is fickle, and more likely to be the result of a line from an ee Cummings poem than an article in a bead or art magazine.

www.megannoel.com

Phinney: Dianne Steen, August + September 2011

 

D. D. Steen is a former land use planner with a background in writing environmental impact statements.  When time allows she goes out on a bike to observe and paint watercolors of local scenery, focusing especially on the clouds that are such an intimate part of our Northwest landscape.

Contact Dianne at d.steen.d@gmail.com

Ballard: Carrie Dresser, August 2011

 

My interest in communication stems from my own resistance to do so. On the spiritual side my work investigates the creative potential of thought, the energy and power of intention. “Energy” is so interesting to me. It can be the source and the message. I love the play between potential and kinetic energy. It can be static and volatile or it can function to convey a meaning or power a system.

My interest in systems and networks was born out of my background in biology. I learned how beautiful the shapes and forms in both the natural world and the technological man-made world are. It became apparent to me just how informed our technological age is by the mechanisms of the natural.

I am interested in investigating all types of information or energy transfer and the intersecting paths they take. I like to play with the macro and micro worlds around us, nature’s repeated forms and their function in communication. I think about information manifesting as chemical, mechanical, visual, auditory, electric, and spiritual. I use both literal and interpreted versions of these information systems in my work, and strive to document the various systems and networks rather than a particular idea or concept being communicated.

CarrieDresserArts.com

ATruantPortrait@gmail.com