Spring is coming too early; green shoots, unfurling leaves. I have been shouting at the clematis and honeysuckle and lillies to stop. We need more sleep, more dreaming time — and snow is on the way. I am in winter still, in love with architecture.
Tonight Painters Under Pressure, my SPA salon, met at the studio of Ruth Hesse. In addition to being talented printmakers and artists this group of 7 is rousingly funny and has an appreciation for food and politics, both of which take up at least some part of our monthly meetings before we get to the central business of sharing and critiquing our work. I will be doing a detailed profile on the salon at a later time.
This post is an alert to those who may not have heard that Ruth is having her fabulous annual print sale this weekend. Ruth’s East Magnolia studio is tucked into a marine area in view of the water and a dazzling maze of industrial stuff. I’ve got to go back in the daylight. This is an area I have never been to and it seems like a whole mysterious city-behind-the-city that I had never known existed. You can get a map and directions to the studio here. The sale will be from 2-6 on Sunday February 26th, with prices ranging from $35 to $1,000. Below, some quick cellphone snaps of her work and space.
See more of Ruth Hesse’s work at her website.
“Often, my prints live in my To Be Continued folder, where they germinate until I have the right combination of colors and textures to layer on top of them. I live for the moment when discordant elements come together to make something unpredictable and beautiful. That’s what excites me about monotype.
Life is a layering of experiences, be they planned, spontaneous, embarrassing, proud, painful or sublime. Without that layering, there’s no depth. There’s great hope in accepting the difficult stages in life (or the life of a print), placing faith in the process that everything will turn out okay in the end.” –R. Hesse
If you would like to see this drawing in person it is currently available at Prographica Gallery.
Ok, ok, I know Burien has been fighting for this title, (and in fact it may not even be relevant, since I am told by some that China, the entire nation, is the new Williamsburg, and who cares about Brooklyn anyway, aren’t we over the USA??), but I would like to take this opportunity to point out that Bremerton has pretty much everything you need in a burgeoning arts community, and much to make its preening big sister to the east jealous.
This is a town where you can still find an affordable home, median price $199K. It’s a place where nature rules, and with considerable drama: In 2010 two bald eagles fighting over a fish knocked out power on Pleasant Avenue, electrocuting one bird in the process. It’s a place where you can spend the night at an upscale bed and breakfast or opt for a romantic and educational sleepover on an actual Navy destroyer from the Vietnam War. You can also see bits of submarines embedded in one of the fabulous waterfront parks, which features fountains that, through a feat of sculptural alchemy, become salmon swimming upstream. You can join the United States Marines and defend our nation in that honorable fashion, or get yourself a studio and make a whole lotta art and defend your aesthetic at the CVG Show, a rare state-wide juried competition with serious prize money at stake, hosted by Bremerton’s Collective Visions Gallery.
Yes, this is not just a travelogue, but an invitation to visit the CVG Show, which opens January 29th, and which I am honored to be part of. Friends Paula Gill, Jennifer Carrasco and Laura Brodax will also be represented, with pieces that are not to be missed. Kathleen Moles, curator at the LaConner Museum of Northwest Art selected 137 works from nearly 800 submitted. There will be many community events in conjunction with the exhibit. Details can be found at Collective Visions Gallery.
Glen Davis, photographer, graciously granted permission to use his portraits of the Bremerton waterfront. It truly is a marvel, and well worth the trip, even if you don’t make it to the show.
© Glen Davis, Legendary Portraits of Manette
I have just created a new public Facebook Page for Iskra Fine Art. I will continue posting show openings and news here, but the Facebook Page is a great way to get notices without going to a google reader or other interface. To get updates please click on the link above and click the "Like" button at the top.
