Well, it’s been a busy couple of weeks for Martha and me
since our last published blog. First and foremost was the judging of the Congressional
High School Art Show on May 2nd at the Green River Community College
by Martha and two other artist / instructors from the west side. That was a
great treat to be part of and Martha was given a special medal from Congressman
Dave Reichart for her effort. That was completely unexpected and really added
to the day for Martha. The artwork was varied and quite good. The winning
piece, a painting by Bonney Lake High School Student Chelsie Conroy, was unanimously
chosen by all three judges and I think they got it right as well. Good job and
congratulations Chelsie.
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Before the event got started, we explored the large art piece
in front of the auditorium. It was interesting so many ways in its form and
texture as well as have a water feature that was not just an add on so to speak
but which was integral to accentuating and even recreating the look of the
piece as the water laced over the pattern of graded cuts into the stone formed
new patterns that were fascinating to me. I had some fun with a couple of the
photos I took of this piece creating some abstracts from close up photos and
some digital manipulation.
Having decided to spend the night on the other side of the
mountains, we took the time to explore some new areas to us that we weren’t as
familiar with which lead us to a great little area called Dash Point which
would be a great place to have a restaurant / art gallery etc… and right on the
water. We had fun there before heading up to Seattle where we saw some public
art that was new to us as well, like this giant lobster or was it a squid, and this crazy fun
abstract sculpture carved from one solid piece of stone.
During the week that followed we got down to business as far
as getting some of the smaller prints made for Martha’s upcoming show in Moses
Lake… more on that later. Then, last weekend,
Mothers Day to be precise, Martha
participated in the Art Lovers Sunday at the Pybus Public Market. This was a
lot of fun as it was previously allowing us to not only display and sell Martha’s
work, but to visit with fellow artists and see what wonderful creations they
have been making.
While there Joann Walker asked Martha to recite her poem
dedicated to her mother that Joann had seen / heard previously. So; after the
award ceremony for Ken Duffen (Congratulations Ken), who was honored both for
his long years of artistic accomplishments, and, for his design having been
chosen for the 2014 Pybus Public Market poster, Martha read her poem. Many of the mothers in the audience were
particularly impacted by the reading and came up to Martha and expressed their
appreciation for the sentiment and shared some of their own mother stories, thoughts
and experiences.
During this past week we continued working on preparation
for Martha’s show at the MAC in Moses Lake both preparing prints, but also,
updating the list of works to be in the show as some of the works listed in the
original proposal which was submitted a year and a half or more ago, have since
been sold, and there have been so many new creations since then. We also made a
trip out to Moses Lake where we met with Freya Hart and went over the dimensions,
configuration and design of the show and addressed some technology issues as
far as the video presentations components. That went well and we had a good
time afterward before heading back to Wenatchee. Upon returning to the valley, we
were a bit too tired to make it out to Leavenworth for the opening reception of
the Birdfest Art show in which Martha has two new works. But, we knew we would
be out there this weekend to volunteer, so we didn’t feel too badly about
missing the reception.
Also this week, I submitted four photos to the OCCC Gallery
in Orange County CA, for their upcoming show on the broadly described theme of “Home”.
I took it as ‘how people live’ and chose some photos of the way people in some
areas of Central America have crafted together means of having home and making
home a meaningful space spiritually and aesthetically. I also began making some
decisions as far as what pieces to include in my upcoming show at the Wenatchee
Chamber of Commerce.
Friday night, we attended the opening reception for the
River of Baskets show at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. This
was a big production that took the combined efforts of several of our friends
and associates over the past two years to put together. Central to this event
coming off were the efforts of Susan Evans and husband Bill Layman as well as
the design and construction of the show by Bill Reitvelt and others. Kudos to
the Bill’s, Susan and everybody involved in this historic, informative and
enlightening display of the art of basket making by the various indigenous
groups that lived and continue to live along the Columbia River. Getting so
many Native American presenters, artisans, educators and leaders to participate
in the show made it all the greater.
While there Joann Walker asked Martha to recite her poem
dedicated to her mother that Joann had seen / heard previously. So; after the
award ceremony for Ken Duffen (Congratulations Ken), who was honored both for
his long years of artistic accomplishments, and, for his design having been
chosen for the 2014 Pybus Public Market poster, Martha read her poem. Many of the mothers in the audience were
particularly impacted by the reading and came up to Martha and expressed their
appreciation for the sentiment and shared some of their own mother stories, thoughts
and experiences.During this past week we continued working on preparation
for Martha’s show at the MAC in Moses Lake both preparing prints, but also,
updating the list of works to be in the show as some of the works listed in the
original proposal which was submitted a year and a half or more ago, have since
been sold, and there have been so many new creations since then. We also made a
trip out to Moses Lake where we met with Freya Hart and went over the dimensions,
configuration and design of the show and addressed some technology issues as
far as the video presentations components. That went well and we had a good
time afterward before heading back to Wenatchee. Upon returning to the valley, we
were a bit too tired to make it out to Leavenworth for the opening reception of
the Birdfest Art show in which Martha has two new works. But, we knew we would
be out there this weekend to volunteer, so we didn’t feel too badly about
missing the reception.Also this week, I submitted four photos to the OCCC Gallery
in Orange County CA, for their upcoming show on the broadly described theme of “Home”.
I took it as ‘how people live’ and chose some photos of the way people in some
areas of Central America have crafted together means of having home and making
home a meaningful space spiritually and aesthetically. I also began making some
decisions as far as what pieces to include in my upcoming show at the Wenatchee
Chamber of Commerce.Friday night, we attended the opening reception for the
River of Baskets show at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. This
was a big production that took the combined efforts of several of our friends
and associates over the past two years to put together. Central to this event
coming off were the efforts of Susan Evans and husband Bill Layman as well as
the design and construction of the show by Bill Reitvelt and others. Kudos to
the Bill’s, Susan and everybody involved in this historic, informative and
enlightening display of the art of basket making by the various indigenous
groups that lived and continue to live along the Columbia River. Getting so
many Native American presenters, artisans, educators and leaders to participate
in the show made it all the greater.
Saturday we made it to Leavenworth. The Birdfest Art Show was
good. I really liked this 'White Headed Sparrow' painting by Lori Ainsworth. There were lots of people there participating in all the Birfest
activities. It was a great day to be outdoors which is exactly where we were at,
at the raffle ticket table selling tickets. It was great to see Alicia McKee and
the other staff and volunteers like Mark Weike who we haven’t seen in ages. It was a great event and well attended and we
had a good time hanging out with fellow artist Cindy Reitvelt afterward. So,
sorry husband Bill couldn’t have been there.
Well, enough for now and think on the words of Oscar Wilde
from the ‘Picture of Dorian Grey’, who said, “Behind every exquisite thing that
existed, there was something tragic.” Now there is something to ponder.
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