Greenwood/Phinney Art Walk 2008

Bunches and bunches of art from the Greenwood/Phinney Art Walk yesterday! Enjoy!

Let’s begin with my personal favorites from the entire walk… intricately painted and deeply thoughtful pieces by Seattle artist Don Farrell. This acrylic piece, on wood panel, is called “Metamorphosis of the Mad God.” Artist statement is as follows:

“This somewhat abstract image is inspired by the Greek god Dionysos, who is well known as the god of wine. His dominion is ecstatic, but it is also of fermentation, vitality from decomposition. Appropriately, he is often associated not only with wine grapes, but also with ivy, or any number of vine plants that consume and spread voraciously. He is brilliant madness within a benign order – the destruction and decay of matter that facilitates the emergence of the new and glorious.”

“Deities Obsolete” by the same artist. Here are two of the five paragraphs from his explanation of this piece:

“This painting is a somewhat whimsical commentary of the pomp of organized religion (not to be confused with spirituality), the futile quest it encourages (for vitality already found within), and the candy-coating of its savagery that would otherwise expose its hypocrisy.

A scene repeated symmetrically (loose structural mimicry of a playing card) depicts clergymen conferring. Of course, there is a hierarchy, and enthroned, looking papal, with sacred items held aloft, the high priest casts his spell. The niches behind his head house symbols from the dollar, including the Illimuminati pyramid, and above is the crown-jewel of his opulent throne. This church is one of many built right on top of the ruined remains of sacred places by conquerors with different gods…”

Fabric “vessels” by Cameron Anne Mason. These are simply beautiful and involve hours of work. The process involved designing the pattern of each piece, hand-dying the fabric, sewing it, and quilting it.

A brightly-colored piece by Paisley O’Farrell.

Due to glare, this is not the best photograph, but this is a piece by Mimi Williams, an artist from Olympia. She does linoleum prints on various pieces of paper and then collages them into one cohesive product. All of the colors in her image come from colored papers, and all the inks are black.

Cute acrylic pieces by Megan Marie Myers that could be perfect for children’s books.

Riding an alligator!!!!!

Riding an elephant!!!!!!!!!

Beautiful painted panels by Jim Stoccardo, on display at Herkimer Coffee.

And more!

“De-Mask” series by Kathy Liao. This is a huge self-portrait, which studies the different “masks” she wears in life.

Same as above, although this one explores – in particular – a stereotype by her Asian grandmother that pale is beautiful.

A cool mural by P. Darrington (details, anyone?) in Greenwood/Phinney. Beautiful.

Francine Seders Gallery – Maysey Craddock, Pat DeCaro, Gail Grinnell

I’ve been by the Francine Seders Gallery a million times but it has never been open. Today, for the first time, it was, as a part of the annual Greenwood-Phinney Art Walk! Yay.

The first image I saw at the gallery, and already, we’re off to a good start. This new body of work by Maysey Craddock features silhouettes of gouache trees, painted on paper bags sewn together with silk thread. Trees are certainly not a new theme but this is beautiful.

Same as above, but it’s much more obvious in this one that the canvas is nothing but a paper bag. Look forward to seeing more by Craddock, a painter and sculptor from Memphis (who is currently living and working in Munich).

“The Memory of a Tree” – A slight departure from the above pieces, this piece was embroidered on a found textile piece. $2,000.

Silhouetted figures in various positions. Ink on semi-transparent paper. By Pat DeCaro.

Mixed media collage by Gail Grinnell. Acrylic on polyester, silk, and paper.

More to come from the Greenwood/Phinney Art Walk.

Go Rilla Gallery’s Green Giants Art Show

For this group show, all of the pieces will depict each artist’s view on the ecological state of the world. Thanks to Aaron Kraten for these photos.

On display not at the Go Rilla! Gallery in Santa Ana.

Artwork by good ol’ musician / artist Susie Gheremani.

Awaiting the name of this artist

Two eye-catching pieces by Aaron Kraten.

Liz Adams‘ eco superhero… or something.

Artist…?

An ultra-hip neon piece by Tommii Lim.

A little plushie green giant by Heidi Kenney.

Ryan Bubnis Installation at Perihelion Arts, Phoenix

Came across a really cool and involved solo installation by Ryan Bubnis! The gallery seemed to give him an entire gallery world of his own. I particularly like the last installation and the adorable and awkwardly-shaped sculptures. Photography by Cecilia Singer.

Where The Good Thoughts Grow
Featuring new paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations from Portland artist Ryan Bubnis.

Partway through…

Drawing spread on the wall.

Some sculptures on shelves.

Wood chunks, yarn, and pine cones!!!

Side shot!! LOVE IT.

Was on display Friday April 4th-30th @ Perihelion Arts, Phoenix Arizona (www.perihelionarts.com/)

First Thursday, Downtown Seattle, May 2008

After going to the THAW Fashion Show in Seattle’s SoDo district this evening and being slightly disappointed, I headed on over to Pioneer Square to the 619 Building. The ever fun 619 Building.

CARRY5 SHOW
First off, to the 5th floor to the Carry5 show, which took place in my buddy Jen’s space. Carry5 is dedicated to helping people across the world gain access to clean water. For this show, artists were invited to decorate their own water jugs.

PGEE! Not sure why he gets a white water jug, but that is pretty much a good deal.

Keith Noordzy jug has sleeping alligators. Or crocodiles.

Jeff Jacobson’s oil bucket with… clay items… which represent ____________.

Ego’s black face of doom.

Aaron Kraten is a Los Angeles artist who we love here at REDEFINE.

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What else have we got in the 619 Building?

Amusing portrait photos by Lucien Knuteson.

Chris Sheridan skateboard decks! Click here to read an interview we did with him recently!

Kate Protage’s contemporary renditions of cityscapes.

Weston Jandacka, photographer and mixed media artist. Solo show called “Within Your Blinking Eye” in the 619 Building, at the Blank Space Gallery. He had many pieces from his Literary Series, which featured a lot of paper collage and paint and old quotes from people like Ralph Waldo Emerson. But personally, I liked his photography best. You can see some samples on his website. Just click on his name.

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CANVAS GALLERY

Kim Lavarello. Drapes are one of the first things you learn to do in art class, but this piece seems to rehash the age old idea. It comes from a series of similar works by Kim Lavarello, and it quite simply captures both emotion and movement quite excellently.

Robin Harlow is a local mixed media artist from Seattle. She previously had some collage pieces up at Canvas as well, but those were not quite as impressive; they felt a bit incomplete, to say the least. This 3D chess board made out of painted baby doll heads is definitely worth a mention. It’s creepy and leaves people chatting about which kind of baby head is what kind of chess piece. Is there a correlation? Not a freaking clue.

Margot Lovinger. Second time seeing these pieces at the Canvas Gallery, and they are just as striking the second time as they were the first time. Initially, this piece might just look like some topless chick having the time of her life. But there’s more. IT’S TEXTILE. It is absolutely mind-boggling in real life when you consider how long this must take her. And what does she do to create this? View this detail photo and a pic from her website:

“I begin with a cotton canvas base, to which all the successive layers are sewn. The first layers are usually cottons and silks. In these early layers, I rough out the composition and establish the major shapes and colors of the work. Next, the subtle modulation of color and tone are achieved by the layering of sheer fabrics, such as tulle, netting, organza and chiffon. Each successive layer changes the hue of the layers beneath it, much the way a transparent color wash changes the layers underneath it in watercolor painting. Stitching in cotton, silk, or rayon thread or embroidery floss is added to create texture and define shapes. Finally, each piece is stretched over a wooden frame.” – Margot Lovinger

Oh, and… did I mention? ALL SEWING IS DONE BY HAND…!!! !! !

Seattle’s Garde Rail – Folk Pop Show

GARDE RAIL – FOLK POP! EXHIBIT
Garde Rail really crafted an amazing exhibit this time around, featuring a good group of artists with varying styles. The gallery did find them to be quite harmonious, however, and fit them all into a new subgenre known as “Folk Pop.” It was deliciously tasty, and will run from now until Saturday, April 26th. It’s highly recommended that you check it out IMMEDIATELY!

Robots on crunchy little textures surfaces, courtesy of the mind of Tim Hooper, an outsider artist from Tennessee. He blends humor and illustrative skill to create one of a kind cutesy pieces for everyone who likes to smile.

The work of Gregory L. Blackstock may be rather confusing upon first sight, but it’s the story that makes it deeply more interesting. Blackstock is autistic but possesses extraordinary abilities to create art and music and speak multiple languages. The above drawings depict different “Buzz Bombs,” or firework helicopters. His drawings come from his need to document everything he sees, and his other pieces are much more intricate than the ones shown above.

Ab The Flagman’s depiction of the American flag, using wood pieces and bedposts that were subsequently painted red, white, and blue.

The amazing three-dimensional work of Kevin Titzer, who uses driftwood from the Ohio River to craft his unique characters.

Paul Cordes Wilm is from Birmington, Alabama, and his showcased work is a blend of collage and paint. The above picture is collaged from newspaper coupon pages. Yay!