Category Archives: Shows

Making Paper Patterns

I’ve just finished roughing out paper patterns for 18 new wall mounted works for my March show at Foster/White. It’s hard to show what I’m doing in this phase because it’s just white on white. It’s a little crazy-making working on these day after day but I am definitely feeling a sense of satisfaction in seeing them pile up around the studio.

Mia, my intern, has started prepping the wood panels for them to be mounted on. She sealed them yesterday and will start painting the edges tomorrow.

For this series I’m working more directly from photographs than I have before. The following are the patterns for Madrone 17 and 18 and the photos that inspired them.

Madrone 17

Madrone 18

I’m approaching the work in a different order, too. Usually I pick a color palette and do a bunch of dyeing before I design the patterns. Then, once I have the patterns done, I play mix and match with the fabrics. This time I made the patterns first. It should streamline the process and save me some time.

The problem is I’m kind of sick of white on white and little bits of paper. I haven’t decided whether to keep at it and refine the patterns while I’m in the groove or to take a week off from patterns and play with color.

It may depend on the weather. If we go into another rainy spell I may just need to get out the dyes to get some color therapy.

An Ending

Today I took down the remains of The Orchard Room with help from my husband and daughter. It took the three of us 45 minutes to take down what had taken six people 8 hours to put up. But that’s the way it always goes with these things.

Endings are a time for reflection. The time is fitting, coming as the leaves are falling and compacting into a wet mulch around the bases of the orchard trees.

On my first visit to the orchard the trees were in bloom and white petals floated down to the damp grass. When we installed the grass was covered with drifts of tiny daisies and little hard fruits were beginning to grow. The fruits swelled with the seasons as the ribbons faded in the strong Summer sun. During the harvest season we talked of art and sang songs of love. In October we lit our lamps, shared hot cider and wended our way out of the orchard together, carrying our lights with us.

Vida with the last ribbon

This installation gave me a sense of rootedness in the seasons, with this specific patch of land between four trees, and with my family and community. My intention was to create a place for people to meet and share experiences. By defining a room with trees as walls and the sky as a roof, we placed ourselves in nature and in time.

There were some disappointments along the way, there always are, but it was deep for me. My hope is that it had meaning for others as well. It definitely created a time and place in memory for my family. My girls are growing up. They will be finding their own lives and paths away from us soon. They already are.

Today we saw the salmon fighting their way up the stream in their last effort to lay eggs for the next generation. They struggle so hard, battered by their journey, on their way to their deaths. People cheer as a big male makes it over an obstacle, commiserate as he slips down again to rest, and then to try again.

Rest and regeneration. Life and death. Flowers to fruit to fallen leaves. In the ending is the beginning. As we headed back to our car I found myself thinking about next year. Would I apply again to make art at Carkeek Park? Perhaps.

But first, the quiet of the Winter must come to the orchard, where the trees will sleep, dreaming of the sun’s return.

Lo-Fi Festival at Smoke Farm

Memoire by Aaron Haba

I attended the Lo-Fi Festival at Smoke Farm this last weekend. I was originally going to install a piece there but I ended up withdrawing. We spent a beautiful, warm Saturday exploring a gorgeous piece of property on a treasure hunt to find art and performance. It was delightful. Here are some photos of what we saw.

Viam Saxa by Steve Leroux

The Barn Identity by Cabbage Patch Mob

Formutation by Keely isaak Meehan

An Insurable Disaster by Eric John Olson

Woven Grass Village by Sara Kavage and Adria Garcia

braided grass

Line Dry by the Satori Group

singing in a tree

Luminous Giant Slug by Sara Deweerdt

the Cabaret

Little Red Riding Hood by Jason Puccinelli

A Summer Idyl

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

A Nice Mention in the Press

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!

My Work Around Town

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!

A Rainy Trip to Smoke Farm

My family and I took a trip up to Arlington yesterday to visit Smoke Farm. The site is a former dairy farm owned by the Smoke Brothers that is now a nature preserve. I’ll be doing an installation there August 25th as part of the Lo-Fi Festival. Our trip was to locate a site for my installation.

Smoke Farm is a beautiful place with a river, meadows, and paths lined with big leaf maples and cedars. We have been experiencing what we call Juneuary here in Washington State. Yesterday was unusually warm to go along with the wet. It was very muddy out there on the paths. I was sure glad I wore my bog boots! On a colder day it could have been pretty miserable but yesterday it was fun squelching through the mud and sloshing through the puddles. We got soaked and were very happy that we all brought changes of clothes and shoes.

at "The Slew"

the River Tree

Once we got back and into dry clothes we hung out at the farm kitchen for a while. It was an enjoyable scene. A whole crew of visual artists, performers, organizers, and half-wild children steaming gently, drinking wine, and talking. Once I had my turn to talk to Anne Blackburn, one of the curators, it sounds as if both the spots I identified as possible sites are taken. Oh well. I think Anne will get me a good spot. I told her my wish list for a site: big leaf maple tree with accessible branches, on the path, near the water.

And, although I want the installation to be successful, I’m mostly looking forward to being a part of the event. I think it’s going to be really interesting and successful, given the conversations I had yesterday.

the Upper Meadow

A Blessing

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!

The Orchard Room

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.

Installation Day at Piper’s Orchard

I spent the longest day of the year in glorious sunshine at the historic Piper’s Orchard at Carkeek Park. I installed my outdoor sculpture piece, The Orchard Room, with the help of ten amazing volunteers. I am always gratified by the willingness and energy that people bring to help me out with these crazy projects.

Each person brought his or her own special skill set. Jill was amazing at moving the ribbons of silk under and over tree branches. Vida, my fearless, tree-climbing daughter, spent so much time at the top of a very high tree that we sent up water and snacks to her. Sky showed the tireless energy of the Iowa farm boy that he is. Leah, Ellen, Jerry, and Lance each provided both a critical eye and the willingness to do what I told them. Corey and Katie brought us dinner and reinforcements as we were fading at the end of the day. Lara, my collaborator and co-curator, brought her unique perspective to keep me on track. What a crew!

Here are photos of the installation.