One of the first ideas Lara McIntosh and I had for experieces at The Orchard Room was a tea party. Lara refined that idea into a Summer Idyl to clarify the intention and to get away from any politcal references. An Idyl brings to mind a Victorian ideal of spending a Summer’s afternoon in the park, surrounded by comfort and friends.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. We brought tea both hot and cool, cucumber and radish sandwiches, tables, rugs, and pillows on which to recline.  The stars of the show were my friend Paul’s mom’s collection of bone china tea cups. The Victrola was a nice touch, too.

And our friends brought the rest. Stuart Zobel played Brazilian music on his guitar. Alan accompanied him and played a few songs, too. Three poets read their work. There was conversation and relaxation with old friends and new. As the sun travelled across the sky we we drank tea, drew deep sighs, and relaxed into the earth. It was idyllic.

Stuart

Vida

Anna and Paul

David Francis, curator and poet

Alan

Ian reads a poem

Sky and the Victrola

I got a nice mention in a Seattle Times review of the current show at Foster/White Gallery. Most of the review is about the work of Guy Laramee and Cara Barer and their work with and about books. But there near the end it says “Note” and there is a paragraph about my work. Click below for the link.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2018725983_ar20laramee.html

The gallery says foot traffic has increased since the article came out.  I also sold three pieces including the one above, Trace Three: Dune. Woo hoo!

I have work up in two places around the Puget Sound right now. Foster/White has five of my new square pieces, the Trace Series, up in the back room of the gallery this month. They painted the walls a dark brown and the work looks great there.

I installed the Stone Mothers today at Bellevue City Hall as part of Bellwether 2012: reGeneration. The opening is this Friday and they have a very nice reception with snacks and live music. I’m going to miss it because I’ll be at the Oregon Country Fair this weekend but I have a bunch of friends in the show and it looks to be a good one. Check it out!

Last Saturday was the opening for Heaven and Earth IV: Rootbound at Carkeek Park. It was also our first scheduled date for performance at the Orchard Room. And it was one of the coldest, wettest June days we’ve ever had here in this cold and wet part of the country. All of the musicians we could reach cancelled Friday night because of the weather forecast.

Saturday morning the clouds started to lift. We even saw some blue sky. So Lara and I packed up a pop up tent, chairs, rugs, hot tea, and everything we would need, just in case. It started raining on my way to the park. By the time I arrived it was coming down hard. As I loaded in it started coming down harder. Lara got a couple of calls from musicians. The singers really wanted to be there but those coming on buses couldn’t get through because of the Rock and Roll Marathon. It just wasn’t meant to be.

Sigh.

Still, Regina showed up to see the installation and Joan showed up to talk about the orchard. We hung out, talking, laughing, being outside in the rain. The weather began to lighten up and a few friends came by in their rain gear. Some people came by with maps of the installations, exploring the art in the park. I love our people. If we didn’t go out in the rain we’d never go out at all.

Regina and Joan

Lara in her fabulous rain hat and cowboy coat

By four o’clock the sky was clearing and who should come walking down the path but Paul Cheoketen Wagner, the native storyteller and musician who had been scheduled to open the space. As the sun came out he sang, played his flute and told a story. It felt as though the Orchard Room was thrice blessed, baptized by the rain,  blessed by Paul’s music, and witnessed by our community.

It was a perfect day.

Paul Cheoketen Wagner

blue sky!

Artist Statement

As simple as a child’s game of cats cradle, colorful silk ribbons are tied between the trees of an historic apple orchard. They vibrate with the breeze, making the wind visible and giving the illusion of a breathing organism. It is a living sculpture, animated by the wind and imbued with the energy of the living trees.

Physically connecting the trees to each other by using strips of fabric makes the relationships between them visible. The weaving of the fabric between the trees suggests a nest, a basket, a spider web, a net, a kiva, our nervous system. It defines inside and outside. It creates a room, ephemeral and permeable to wind and weather, with an earthen floor and the open sky for its roof. Inside that room the space becomes a meeting place, a stage, a container for interactions both planned and spontaneous.

This installation at Pipers Orchard speaks to the deep connection between humans and nature through agriculture. Man manipulates nature, cultivating the plants that provide food and weeding away those that don’t. We prune, weed, and nurture these trees so they will provide us with nourishment.

Over the duration of the installation it will change respond to nature. The colors of the fabric will fade and the silks will stretch and sag. These changes mimic the changes of the seasons from Spring to Autumn. The trees blossom, are pollinated, and fruit. Leaves bud, absorb the Summer sun, fade, and fall. We, too, change and age through the seasons of our lives. All these life cycles are bound together, much like the trees are bound together by a ribbon of silk.

The beauty of this installation lies in its simplicity. Silk, trees, time, and intention create a container for performance, interaction, and contemplation of the passage of time and our connections to the Earth.