Tuesday, November 1, 2016

You're Invited: First Friday Artwalk, November 4th, 2016

We've made it through Halloween (we think; see next post) and the holidays are, amazingly, right around the corner.  But don't stress out about buying all those gifts, and decorating your home:  We can help!  So come visit on First Friday, sip a glass of wine, and see all the lovely things we have ready for you in this show.  For example:



November 4-30, 2016
Furniture Designers:
Carol Fiedler Kawaguchi, Carl Yurdin, David Kellum
Wendy Dunder and Reid Anderson
Fiber Artists:
Tom Johnson and Jacqueline Moseley
Glass Artists:
Ted Jolda and Ken & Ingrid Hanson
Ceramic Artist:
Robin Hominiuk

Reception with the Artists
First Friday, November 4th, 6-8 pm


MAKE IT SPECIAL!
As we all prepare to celebrate the Holiday Season,
discover one-of-a-kind gifts from local and nationally-recognized artists
and furnish your Holiday Home with contemporary furniture pieces
like sumptuous slab dining and coffee tables, benches to snuggle on by the fire,
colorful glassware to serve your guests locally-made wine and spirits,
vases for decorative flower arrangements and ornaments for centerpieces or
the tree, ceramics for the table (imagine cheery mugs for sipping spicy hot cider),
cozy fiber sculpture, even festive felt and burlap wreaths
for decking the Holiday door!

Images, above, Left to Right:
“Sweet 16”, Jacki Moseley; Dave Olsen Blanket Chest #2, Reid Anderson; Footed Plate, Robin Hominiuk;
Illuminated Sculpture Wapiti, L. Wendy Dunder; Cane Vase, Blue, Ken & Ingrid Hanson;
Coffee Table, Carol Fiedler Kawaguchi.


About the Artists

Furniture Designers:

Carol Fiedler Kawaguchi (Bainbridge Island, Washington)

Carol combines her talents as a fine artist with her skills as a fine woodworker specializing in antique restoration and repair, unique fine wood furnishings and fine art assemblages. Carol attended Seattle’s Cornish Art Institute and received a BFA from Western Washington University with a focus on Japanese Art History and Printmaking. She apprenticed to a violinmaker and a ceramicist while living in New Mexico where she opened her first woodworking and interior furnishings business. She has traveled extensively in Europe and Asia.

Carol has worked as an artist and woodworker for the past 25 years and now makes her home in Washington, on Bainbridge Island.

Carl Yurdin (Bainbridge Island, Washington)

“As an industrial designer for over fifty years, I have spent my whole career designing products that expand the visual possibilities.  Over those years, I have remained committed to high design standards, balancing functionality, user requirements, regulatory needs and overall aesthetics – for both highly consumer focused products, as well as more industrial products, like medical and construction equipment.  In my view, everything deserves the opportunity to be well designed to enhance the overall user experience.  That perspective informs how I work
today,
having moved to the Northwest and Bainbridge Island.”

David Kellum (Port Townsend, Washington)

Living and working in Port Townsend, Washington, David designs and builds residential and commercial wood furniture that allow him to join together his creative and technical abilities.  David creates graceful, contemporary pieces that highlight the natural beauty of the wood and make the most of a valuable natural resource, providing lasting beauty and utility with outstanding craftsmanship.



“I come from a family of artists and craftsmen reaching back many generations, but my training in woodworking comes as a result of interning and working with other craftsmen and along with a number of architectural designers and builders…My designs and furniture reflect my passion for fine form, simplicity and … shows the influences of Twentieth Century design styles including Art nouveau, Deco, Scandinavian, and Asian.”

L. Wendy Dunder  (Portland, Oregon)

Wendy is a professional watercolor and acrylic painter, known for depicting landscapes, still life, animals, and people. Recently, however, her focus has shifted to creating sculptural lamps of bent wood and laminated paper.  As a certified teacher and Artist in Residence in schools in her area she is also deeply involved in creating curriculum-based murals.  A hallmark of her work is the involvement of her students in the process, and together they have created permanent outdoor municipal murals of concrete, stone, tile, glass, and paint.

Reid Anderson (Seattle, Washington)  

Originally from Wisconsin, Reid mixes classical wood furniture with modern design and interpretations.  These pieces are part of a collaborative series with other well known artists across the county, ranging from professors, independent artists, and film designers.  Other works can be seen in the permanent collection at the Museum of Wisconsin Art.  

"Every piece is built to last a hundred years and beyond.  Furniture should be something for your grandchildren to grow old with.  It needs to be a mix of good design along with integrity in its construction."

Fiber Artists:

Tom Johnson (Bainbridge Island, Washington)

This body of my work - which is created by taking multiple layers of fabric, manipulating, sewing, cutting, and washing them to make the fibers “bloom” - had a serendipitous beginning. I had fabric remnants from a variety of architectural and interior design projects. I started experimenting with layering, sewing them in lines at close intervals, cutting and washing, in an effort to create a soft, tactile, dog-friendly throw for our sofa… I quickly saw lots of possibilities, determined which fabrics worked best and how this newly created “Ridge and Furrow Chenille” could be used. Benches and ottomans soon followed. “Ridge and Furrow” designs for the wall, as well as a “quilt,” developed simultaneously… I am influenced by the tradition of quilt making as well as by modern and minimalist quilts (and on some level by the randomness of Jackson Pollock)…by the surprises… the interplay of color, interpreting what I see around me … expressing a message … and the endless possibilities.

Jacqueline Moseley (Bainbridge Island, Washington)

Jacki began felting in 2012 after being attracted to the texture and dimension of felt for many years – fascinated by its properties, how to make it, and how to make things with it. She has most enjoyed making bowls, vessels and wall hangings.  She also worked with beads, sewing them onto her creations, which are made with merino wool.  She uses both wet and needle felting processes, where the wool fibers become intertwined to create a design and/or a form.

“Though I have learned how to manipulate the wool fibers, felting still seems a bit miraculous to me because something wonderful, fun or unexpected happens every time I make something new. My hope is that my pieces will provide enjoyment, color and interest to a space and others will appreciate them as much as I enjoy making them.”

Glass Artists:

Ted Jolda (Parksville, B.C.)

Working in wood, metal, fabric, and glass, Ted Jolda has been a creative force all his life. He is one of Canada's best known glass artists and has been called the nation's pre-eminent ornament maker. Working primarily in glass since 1985, he attended classes at Simon Fraser University, Western Washington University, and Sheridan College School of Craft and Design. He resides with his family on an island off the west coast of Canada.  His work is in the collections of the royal houses of England and the Netherlands, the Canadian Craft Museum and the Corning Museum of Glass, and has been exhibited internationally in numerous group shows.  His work has been presented to presidents, prime ministers and heads of state around the world; he counts U.S. President Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey as fans.

Ted comments on a recent brush with retail nirvana: "I had an agent, who for a couple of years took my stuff to the big Gift Trade Shows out east. In New York some of Oprah's personal shoppers saw my ornaments [Golden Pears] and liked them. Bought some and took them to show Oprah. She liked them and put them in her magazine. I knew nothing of this until about a week before the magazine came out. It was great. It was amazing. It was an incredible year. I made little else for the next year. My income (for that one year only) more than doubled… The next year I was no longer the 'new thing' and sales went back to their old - well actually slightly worse than their old levels. I had lost some clients that I couldn't supply with other work while I was making pears. I'm not complaining. Variety is good. But it was amazing while it lasted."

Ken and Ingrid Hanson (San Carlos, California)

Ken and Ingrid have worked together since their early college years. Although traditional Italian and Swedish glass-blowing techniques inspire them, they employ a bold and innovative color palette to create their unique and contemporary art glass. Paying great attention to the detail of the surface decoration on their vessels, they create brightly colored stripes and symbols of cane and murrini by hand forming and melting glass into various shapes. During the glass-blowing process they fuse these inclusions onto the surface of the glass. They often include 24K gold and pure silver leaf in many of their pieces.

"We constantly strive to evolve our ideas to create unique and exciting works of art in glass. It is the intensity and unpredictability of hot glass that inspires constant change in our work. Through collaboration, we are able share our visions and skills to create one-of-a-kind works of art."

Ceramics Artist:
Robin Hominiuk (Seattle, Washington)

Robin was born in Canada and moved to the United States in 1998.  She received her clay education via community education courses and several terms at Mt. Hood Community College.  She regularly attends workshops to keep a fresh perspective and learn new techniques.  In 2004 she built her home studio and has never looked back.

In addition to the beautiful functional pots she produces from her studio kiln, she also creates pottery and sculpture for wood firing.  These pots are fired in huge kilns based on ancient Japanese traditions.  The pots are fired for 70 plus hours with a committed group of potters and six to eight cords of wood.  Pottery fired in this intense method is transformed by flame and ash; the colors and marks cannot be replicated or produced in any other way.  Robin’s work has been featured in numerous national and international collections.

About The Island Gallery

Established in 2002, The Island Gallery features internationally recognized artists whose work takes traditional art forms in exciting new directions: studio  furniture and sculpture; museum quality textile art and wearables; wood fired ceramics from the finest potters in America; paintings and prints; and unique jewelry creations. Our monthly exhibitions include live musical concerts, featuring such genres as jazz, rock, folk, chamber music and performance art.  This, along with its reputation for excellence, makes The Island Gallery a destination spot on beautiful Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle.

Contact Us/Visit:



Event Location: 

The Island Gallery, 400 Winslow Way E, #120, Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Underground parking is available at The Winslow off Ericksen Avenue.

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