Here in the Pacific Northwest, spring is always soft and lovely, with June being perhaps a bit on the "tentative" side. Everyone's ready for outdoor adventures, and as June dips into summer, we always wonder if July will be Puget Sound perfect, with sparkling skies and water? And specifically here on Bainbridge Island, will the Grand Old Fourth parade and festivities bake or drip?
One never knows... but we have learned to have boundless hope!
It is quite clear, however, that our artists are feeling summer's inspiration whatever the weather, as new items in furniture, wearable art, jewelry, ceramics, paintings and prints are popping up in the Gallery. And this, as always, is a most hopeful portent for things to come!
Please enjoy a look at some of these amazing pieces of art, and be sure to click on the link of each individual piece to visit our online shop for further information.
We have, over the years, had the pleasure to see many, many
wonderful pieces of art, in different mediums and
disciplines. Metal artist Daniel Herreshoff's hanging bells
and singing bowls, however, rank among the most
memorable and sought after in any category. This is the very last
piece of his, and it is truly one of his best, with an enchanting
deep resonance and beautiful markings.
Daniel describes his process (written in 2006):
I turned wooden bowls
for many years, until I became interested in
creating steel Hanging Bells out
of old, used oxygen tanks.
During the 1940s, 50s and 60s, when these
particular oxygen tanks
were in use, they received many layers of different
paint colors indicating
specific gases in the tanks and to cover up chipped
paint. These many
layers of colors were the taking-off point for me to
create these unique, and
one-of-a-kind American garden bells and meditation
bowls.
The reason I search out these old “spun-steel” oxygen tanks,
which
were "high tech" at the time, is that they are thin-walled,
thereby
producing the purest tones. Unfortunately, manufacturers stopped making
these tanks in the mid-60s and someday will no longer be available due to
attrition. It is my intention to recycle
these heavily-used oxygen tanks and
save them from becoming scrap metal. The bells now serve a new function
as
beautiful garden bells with resonating meditative and healing sounds
The many different
layers of paint colors on these bells provide an
interesting texture and visual
contrast. I preserve the original colors
as
much as possible and overlay them with vibrant colors of my choice,
reminding one of intricately woven tapestries. The garden bells are
polished
to a gloss giving them depth and brilliance.
The clappers of the
garden bells are created on a lathe either out of gorgeous
orange red Padauk
wood from Africa, Ipe wood from Brazil, a Rose
wood from Bolivia or out of
Cocobolo wood, which grows from Mexico to Panama.
The attrition rate Daniel speaks of is already with us and he has been
unable to make more of these bells. He has since moved on to new
artistic adventures, and is now living with his family in South America.
Carefully book-matched, extraordinary claro walnut slabs
from Chico, California, make into a wondrous table top.
This big, bold piece would make an amazing addition to
a dining or board room.
And if you turn your computer screen upside down, or
are athletic enough to do a headstand,you
will see an interesting creature staring back at you!
(Although it's much easier to simply come down to the
Gallery and visit it in person!)
Oh, my! Be still my heart!
If you follow our shop and blog, you probably know that
we are always raving about shibori artist Carter Smith (see more
here,
but we're warning you: View at your own heart's risk...)
Well, we are happy to report that July will be no different!
We're going to be a little Carter-centric this month, as he will be our
featured artist in an exhibit of fantastic banners and new clothing designs.
(See our next blog post for more details.)
The wondrous, earthy, yet refined jewelry sculpture of Bara deMarino
is featured this month to show off a new selection of work we have
just received from her. View more of her wonderful pieces
Bara, formerly a leading fashion designer in New York City,
moved out West in 1986 and turned her talents to writing, sculpting and
creating unique pieces of jewelry, which she considers “Body Art”.
A sculptor by nature, her
designs are strong statement pieces; her
forms are influenced by nature
and movement.
Fascinated with indigenous
cultures, she found herself traveling to
different parts of the world
collecting artifacts. Truly inspired, and back
in her studio, these artifacts
are created into unique sculptural body art.
Along with her travels and life
experiences her writing has become an
influential part of her creativity. Her poems have been published
in The International Library of Poetry. A member of the International Sculptors
Association she
is still involved with sculpting although her latest
focus has been on body art.
Bara's work can be found in galleries in the Western
United States,
Florida, and Texas. She has recently moved to Mexico.
We recently featured Reid's Schoonover's work here on the blog, but one can
never have too much of a good thing, we always say!
This collection of eleven tiny pots is particularly charming, with their
diminutive size, exquisite glazing, and sweet little lids made of
a variety of exotic woods, all personally crafted by the artist.
Visit them individually in the Gallery or in our online shop
here, where
all eleven will be available for viewing around July 5th.
New items are in from the studio of Kay Chapman,
whose designs perfectly blend her fabric dyeing
techniques and the utter wearableness of her
designs, created to complement our lady-like figures.
Classic, elegant, and fun all in one package
is a combination we heartily endorse!
Visit this and her other artful clothing
here.
Our very next blog post will have a little more to say about Bainbridge Island
monotype print artist Renée
Jameson, but here's a quick look at one of her
beautiful pieces currently available in the Gallery and online.
online shop; there will be more of her pieces available for viewing around July 5th,
immediately prior to the upcoming exhibition, Carter Smith: Shibori Master,
which will also feature her work. The exhibition opens at the Gallery on July 11th.
Please enjoy what will no doubt be a glorious early summer! We'll be back with the July Newsletter soon. If you'd like to subscribe to have notice of our monthly Gallery Picks Newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, simply send us an e-mail at
sr@theislandgallery.net and we'll put you on our mailing list.
Happy July 4th!
