Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Holidays...Yes, They Are Upon Us!

To all our wonderful friends, customers, and families,
The Island Gallery sends warmest Thanksgiving greetings!
We hope you and your loved ones enjoy a day brimming with companionship,
good food, stories of grand times past, and hope for the future.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!



Coming up next:

Beneath Still Waters: New Work by Eva Funderburgh
and The Island Gallery's 11th Annual Wearable Art Show
 
Complete details will be posted shortly!

Monday, November 21, 2016

Getting Ready: 2016 Holiday Hours

For your Holiday Shopping convenience, here's a list of the Gallery's hours, beginning after Thanksgiving (on Monday, November 28th) and running into the New Year.  We will be open on Mondays during this period.


General Dates:
 
Monday - Friday:
11 am - 6 pm

Saturdays:
10 am - 5 pm

Sundays:
12 noon - 5 pm

Special Dates:

Saturday, December 24th:
10 am - 3 pm

Sunday, December 25th
CLOSED

Monday, December 26th:
CLOSED

Sunday, January 1, 2017:
CLOSED

Monday, January 2, 2017
CLOSED

(The Gallery will then be closed on Mondays during the winter months.)

We'll be waiting to see you, and help you make the perfect gift choices
for your family and friends, and to deck your halls!

Oh, and by the way: the Online Shop is open 24/7!
Prompt shipping, no long checkout lines, and we're a
quick telephone call away if you need additional assistance.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!



Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Hot Off the Presses: Two First Fridays, October 7th & November 4th

Yes, we know, we're a little less than "Hot" off the presses on the October First Friday review, but to make up for it, we can't get much "hotter" than the review for November, so we're combining the two.  Please read on for a look at what were two special, lovely evenings at the Gallery.


OCTOBER 7th

May as well start with some Seriously Important Stuff:

Chocolate cupcakes...
Excuse us: could we see those just a tiny bit closer....

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES!!
Ah, yes.  Much better.  A sip of wine, a chocolate cupcake...or two...
Sigh...
These little darlings, actually mini, frosted chocolate cupcakes, were
provided by our wonderful neighbors at Bainbridge Crepes,
and they didn't last long.

And speaking of wine, we served bubbly champagne for the
evening (the only time all year) to celebrate Virginia Paquette's show
opening, and in honor of Bill Smith's 90th birthday!
A little more on that later.

Now on to the Really Good Stuff:

A customer views Virginia's new work.
Virginia Paquette of Seattle, Washington, is this month's featured artist.

For a residency at the Conservatorio di Musica in Bologna this year,
Virginia painted these mixed-media works as part of a collaboration
with her husband, Bill Smith.  They are her visual responses to his works of music,
influenced by their years together in Italy.  She responds to Smith’s music
with color, line, rhythm, gesture, and collage of found images,
salvaged from the streets of Italy.

Virginia chats with her fans.
An MFA graduate in painting from the University of Washington,
Virginia has worked and exhibited internationally.  Her art
responds to motion and memory, and is inspired by natural forms and
phenomena.  Winner of numerous public art commissions, Virginia
has collaborated with Bill Smith on site performance installations here
in the Pacific Northwest and Seattle area, as well as around the world,
including “Deluge,” created for Queen Victoria Museum, Launceston,
Australia, “Saffeides” at Teatro Greco in Rome, and with
ARTKOAMIA performance consortium.
 
All of her beautiful abstract framed watercolor/collage paintings can be seen
on her artist's page in the online Shop; simply click here...

Virginia, surrounded by the crowd.
Admiring the beautiful presentation.
Our musicians, preparing for the evening.
Terrific Bainbridge Island jazz pianist, Anne Pell (in blue blouse), converses
with her Jazz Trio's bass player, Brian Chambers, and the evening's guest artist,
renowned clarinetist Bill Smith (in black suit with his back to the camera).
Bill's long and storied career includes a lifetime of friendship with Dave Brubeck,
playing with Mr. Brubeck's Octet from its formation in the 1940s, then off and
on with the Quartet, and many recordings and concerts
both with Brubeck and solo over the years.
Bill has also been a music professor at the University of Washington
in Seattle for thirty years, now professor emeritus.
In September of this year he celebrated his 90th birthday.


The collaboration between these two musicians had its beginnings at the
Gallery last year after Bill heard Anne and her Jazz Trio play.
At that time he was complimentary of her music, and the two eventually decided
to play together for Virginia's upcoming show.
Returning the favor, Anne says that during her music career she has had
two opportunities to play with musicians of such stature and talent,
and this was one of them.

Anne and her bassist opened the show at 6pm, performing a wonderful 
one-hour set before our own Jack Nunn introduced Bill to the packed room,
and a nice big crowd representing all ages.  Bill then proceeded
to enchant the crowd with his 30-minute set with Anne, which included
What Is This Thing Called Love, Bologna Blues, Body and Soul, and In a Sentimental Mood.
At one point the audience even sang Happy Birthday to him!

The music, along with the realization that they were in the company
of true musical greatness, evoked very emotional reactions in the audience.
For example, there was at least one person present who reported
that he had taken a course in Jazz History from Bill at the University of
Washington many years agoBill told us that this is not a terribly unusual
occurrence, as many students from his 30-year teaching stint come by
to talk with him at his performances.
His course was considered very innovative at the time and of course there
is a wonderful story behind it:  Bill had an agreement with the UW when
he was hired that he would only teach small classes; but when the course
finally began, it had become a lecture class to hundreds that was so
popular, he ended up teaching it for 20 years!

(For more information on Bill Smith's extraordinary career,
please click here to see his full-length bio, toward the end of the post.)
Virginia Paquette and Bill Smith
Thanks to everyone - most particularly to these two wonderful artists,
and friends of the Gallery - for a truly memorable evening.


NOVEMBER 4th

Here's a look at part of the set-up for the show before the crowds arrived.

The Back Room - a partial look
Furniture by Reid Eric Anderson, situated along the north wall,
with several of Jacki Moseley's framed fiber pieces
above and a clock by Carol Fiedler Kawaguchi
on the far left of the photo.

All three artists were present at the show, as well as Ali Rose,
who did the detailing on Reid's beautiful blue plaid furniture.

Ridge and Furrow Quilt.  Tom Johnson
Named after the medieval ridge-and-furrow farming system of England
used for centuries (and currently in smaller versions in our own
Northwest gardens), Tom's beautiful quilt was quite a standout!


A  gorgeous grouping of Steve Trick's display tables,
acting as temporary homes for a selection of wood fired ceramics
from Robin Hominiuk. 

See closer looks at Robin's very special work by clicking here.
Steve's tables will be posted in the online shop shortly,
and in the meantime, he and his wife Joanne were able to be
at the show opening.

On the Grid.  Jacqueline Moseley
Fiber artist Jacki Moseley poses in front of several of her fiber pieces with
special guest Lila Schmidt, who flew in from California especially to attend the opening.

We will be adding Jacki's marvelous, intriguing fiber sculptures to the online shop
very soon, so keep posted for a great display of her work.

Also attending the opening was our furniture artist Carl Yurdin
and his friend Jane Drucker (neither are pictured).

A happy crowd.
Now, let's see:  what is the name of this show again?

Oh yes:

So about that "Holiday" thing:

Gorgeous fiber wreaths for a festive front door!
Ornaments.  Ted Jolda

A wonderfully cheerful hand-blown glass apple...


...and a grand, glowing fig!

And oh, there's so much more!

That's it for our October and November show openings; on to December,
with details to be posted soon.  See the front page of our main site
for advance exhibition warnings.
And stand by for our upcoming, and dare we say FABULOUS,
Holiday Gallery Picks!

The December Holiday Gallery Picks will premiere right here around
Thanksgiving, and we are very excited to share it with you!
Look for our alerts in your inbox.
If you aren't one of our subscribers yet, not to worry -
send us a note with your email address and we'll sign you right up,
in time for our annual look at the finest in fine art
for your gift and decorating requirements.

To subscribe to our Newsletter/Gallery Picks Alert and receive notices of all our sales, shows and events, click on the About Us/Profile box on the left of this page, go to "Contact", click on "Email", and send us a note containing your preferred receiving address.  We'll sign you up right away.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

BOOOOO! Halloween 2016, Island-Style



It never fails:  Trick-or-Treat was touch-and-go, weather-wise.  We always worry about those tiny revelers getting too damp.  But the clouds parted and the rain stopped just in time for the Halloween Hoopla here on Bainbridge Island. And oooooh... the monsters - big and small - turned out to scour Downtown Winslow for Treats to Devour.
At the Witching Hour (4 pm), the Gallery and Bainbridge Crepes teamed up at tables set up on the Plaza with big baskets of candy for all the kids and families, ready to satisfy any critter's sweet tooth.  And as always, the hordes showed up in force.  We are delighted to share some photos from this annual event.  The images are grouped for your enjoyment - the usual suspects (skeletons and pirates), lovely princesses, literary and media characters, scary yet cute animals, family fun, and some clever takes on the weather and IRS.  And a few Adorables that stood out in the crowd.
Never fear, wade right in, take a good long look, and enjoy the ghouls, ghosts and goodies!
The Weather Improves.  Main Street Closes to Cars.

 Crosswalk Helpers are Ready - Set - GO!
LET THE TRICK-OR-TREATING BEGIN!

Arriving on the Plaza.

The Usual Suspects:


 Lovely Princesses:


Literary and Media Creatures:
 

Animals, Scary and Cute (and a Courageous Lion)


The Crowds Keep Growing; the Candy Keeps Flowing:


So Clever!  A Tornado (below, center), A Rain cloud (right), and an IRS Audit Team (left)
(T-Shirt Reads:  "I Accept Payment In Candy"):


Good Ol' Scary Family Fun:


And a BIG Dose of Adorable (Irresistible):
Candy Corn and a Perfect Pumpkin!


It's getting dark... time for all Good Monsters to go home
and count their candy:

  
And soon... Shop lights begin to flicker on...traffic helpers pack up...
there's only one thing left to do on this spooky day:
Find our way home to sit by a warm fire
and look forward to next year...

mwahahahahahahah!
Happy Halloween!