December 2013 Gallery Picks Newsletter and Gift Picks

Don't look now, but...

The Holiday Season is here! 

Our first gift of the season for you, dear customers, is a Gallery Picks Newsletter with a little bit of extra oomph for your gift browsing convenience and pleasure.  Scroll down to view a list of 80-plus art pieces created by our talented regional, national and international artists, ranging in price from under $10.00 to over $5,000.00.  This selection includes fabulous wearables, gifts for men, and functional or decorative ceramics; also gorgeous locally-crafted wood furniture, boxes, boards, and bowls, sculpture, and amazing wall art in the form of paintings and intaglio prints to enhance your home.  In other words, something for everyone!

For a close-up view of any individual item, simply click on the link beneath each to visit our online shop for further information.

Jackets

From left:

Felted Wool Jacket, Pavlou; Nomad Jacket, Shanks; Felted Wool Jacket, Pavlou

Fleece Kimono Jacket, Roselle; Shibori Crinkle Silk Jacket, Nguyen
Felted Wool Vest, Pavlou

Necklaces:

From left:

Labradorite & Turquoise, Paquette; Red Crystals, Paquette

Wood & Quartz Pendant, Zeldis; Necklace Moher, Rentero

Silk Shibori & Carnelian, Isnia (Red Lotus)

Leather & Waxed Cotton, 2 by Lyn&Tony

Cotton Tees:

From left:  

From Mary Jaeger: Shibori-dyed, Tiger;  Shibori-dyed Brown/black;  Shibori-dyed Wave

Asteroids, Black/red; Asteroids, black/tan

Scarves/Shawls

From left:

Shibori Silk Scarf, Carter Smith; Wool Shawl, Holzman; Silk Batik Scarf, Isnia

"Diamond 5" Loop Shawl, Jaeger; Optic Ovals Scarf, Jaeger; Shibori Scarf, Nguyen

Earrings

From left:

"Passion", Whitmore; "Flame Dance", Sundt;  "Jalisco", Rentero
Silver & Hematite, Gitana Collection; Fused Sterling & Brass, Bara
Blue Vein Agate, 2 by Lyn&Tony; "Truth by Nature", Sundt

For Men

From left:

Bamboo Scarves, Whitlock; "Andes Sun" Scarves, Young
Handwoven Shirt, Johnson; Robe, David; Fringed Vest, Zeldis

Fabulously Fun & Funky

From left:

Camel Basket, NEO;  Rectangular Red Basket, NEO; Party Cups, Jolda 
Brooch, NEO; Red Necklace, NEO; Medium Red Round Basket, NEO
Purses, NEO

Fine Wood Furniture

From left:

Cedar Coffee Table; Black Locust Seat;  Curved Arm Desk chair; Isho 2 Cabinet
Cherry Craftsman Settle; Cantilevered Walnut Desk; Maple Corner Shelf

Ceramics

From left:

Wood-fired Cup, Watson; Large Bowl,  Wood-fired, Schoonover; Dinner Plate & Salad Plate, Strayer
Ceramic-Based Pine Needle Basket, Knudsen; Tapered Vase, Loase
Wood-fired Tea Bowl, Sauer; Wood-fired Butter Dish, Hominiuk

Sculpture

From left:

E-Buck, Illuminated Sculpture, Dunder; Driftwood Lamp, Benson; Cherry Sconce, Christopher
Tulip Tree, Illuminated Sculpture, Dunder; "Needs A Name", Christopher

Wooden Boxes

From left:

All by John Luke:  Walnut Jewelry/Document Box; Small Lidded Legged Box; Zen Jewelry Box
"Alien" Jewelry Box; Asian-Inspired Jewelry Box; Swivel-Lid Box

Cutting Boards & Bowls

From left:

All by Dave Thompson:  Maple Cutting Board; Small Maple cutting Board;
Walnut Cutting Board [sold]; Walnut Cutting Board

Lower right:

Both by Dave Thompson:  Walnut Salad Servers; Walnut Salad Bowl

Paintings & Prints

From left:

Polar Noon, Yesley; I'll put some tea on to boil, Till; "Flying Circles" Handpainted Kimono, Roselle;
A Particular Green Hillside, Bowles; Tropfenol 110, Reisdorf; Lady, After Picasso, Labitzke

Cards

From Left:

Frosted Leaves, Gill; Star, Petersen; Red Ginko, Petersen

Little Tree, Petersen; Snow on Leaves, Gill 

Cozy Throws

From left:

 Black and Silver Mohair, Frantastic; Curly Fleece, Roselle; Autumn Colors, Frantastic

We hope you've enjoyed viewing these amazing pieces by our amazing artists.  There's even more to see at the Gallery and on our online shop and, of course, watch this blog for updates on artists, shows, sales and events.  Our next event?  The upcoming 8th Annual Wearable Art Show, opening on December 6th. We'll be back in a few days with all the info on that.

But in the meantime, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank you sincerely for helping the Gallery have a wonderful 2013; we can't wait to see what 2014 will bring!  To all of you from all of us, Happy Holidays!

October 2013 Gallery Picks Newsletter

Welcome to our October Gallery Picks Newsletter!  We're featuring, once again, some of our current favorite art pieces, though it is always a difficult task to look around the Gallery and, with new items coming in every week, decide which ones to showcase - we love everything!  Still, we must force ourselves to choose, so here we go.  Don't forget to click on the links for each item to visit the online shop for a closer look and further details.

Enjoy!

Walnut Benches

Our No-Fail Recipe for Great Seating:

First:  Locate several pieces of gorgeous walnut from Chico, California.
Second:  Smooth and apply an impeccable finish.
Third:  Hand-craft and attach unusual and artistic aluminum legs.
Result:  Two fabulous benches.

These beautiful pieces are a collaboration, with the wood expertly finished
by one of our artists in Seattle.  The aluminum legs were then
created by a Bainbridge Island metalsmith.
They're available singly (see #1 and #2) or as a set.  

Warmth.  Jen Till

Vibrant with color and appropriately titled Warmth, Jen reminds us of something
we will need in the upcoming chilly months!  It's all very well to wrap up in
woolens, but being able to gaze at a blazing log, or a cheery painting like this,
can be equally therapeutic.

As with Jen's other works featured in the Gallery, it is oil on canvas.

Amber Earrings. The Gitana Collection

From the Gitana Collection of fine jewelry we are delighted to showcase
these beautiful earrings of gemmy amber set in sterling silver.  The clarity in these
stones is quite impressive, with their passing dark amber swirls and clouds.
A lovely gift, one imagines, for a special friend!

Saggar-Fired Medium Vase.  Fred Loase

Rich color highlights this lovely vase from Bainbridge Island artist Fred Loase.
Fred is a fairly new artist to the Gallery but, we must say, one of our most
enthusiastic!  He works in wood fire, raku, pit fire, and saggar fire, such as the
glowing example here.

But what the heck is saggar firing?  So glad you asked!
Here's what we know about it:

A saggar is a lidded ceramic container.

It can be used in the firing of pottery for several purposes: to enclose or

protect clayware during a firing from open flame, smoke, gases and kiln debris;

and to create decorative markings on the ceramic pieces.

To accomplish the desired effects, pots are placed into saggars filled

with combustible materials such as sawdust, straw, pine needles,

and/or wood shavings, as well as less combustible organic materials:

salts, copper carbonate, copper sulfate, bismuth (think Pepto-Bismol),

metals like copper or steel wire, and weird but non-toxic materials such as

seaweed, crushed vitamin tablets, banana peels, and dog or cat food!

Once the firing begins and these materials ignite or fume, the saggars

provide a controlled atmosphere which concentrates the effect of the

various materials on the surfaces of the pots.  This can produce dramatic

markings, with colors ranging from distinctive black and white to

flashes of golds, greens and reds, depending on the materials used.

This firing process has been around for thousands of years and,

interestingly, "saggar" is a contraction of the word “safeguard”.

Visit more of Fred's wonderful work here (we'll be putting up new pieces shortly).

Necklace Nuku Hiva, Saffron.  Begona Rentero

Another of Begona Rentero's extraordinary pieces of jewelry.
In this piece and several of her new ones she has used an onionskin paper
that is very crisp (like autumn leaves) and extraordinarily lightweight.
The earrings for this design are definitely something to behold and
will be included online shortly (or ask us for a photo).
(They're glorious in Raspberry, by the way.)

What can we say about this amazing artist that hasn't already been said?

Well, how about a quick mention of the great honor recently given her:

Begona was selected to participate as one of the fifty best emerging

and acclaimed jewelry artists in the world by the Museum of Art and Design

in New York City.  Her work was included in the LOOT 2013: Mad About Jewelry

show and sale, which ran October 1-5 this month.

...Wait, did we mention that before, too...?

Oh, that's right... right here.

Walnut Salad Bowl.  Dave Thompson

How do we love these salad bowls?  Let us count the ways:

They're beautiful.
They're functional.
They're gorgeously and artfully made.
Their finish is food safe.
They come with their own salad servers.
Everyone loves them.
Dave's prices are amazing.
They're beautiful.
(Whoops...)
And they make GREAT gifts.
(Though we highly suspect some of you keep them for yourselves... naughty!)
(But we understand...)

All of that adds up to perfection in a bowl, shall we say!

More of Dave's magnificent bowls can be seen here; and there
are more on the way, so keep an eye out for them in the web shop.

(P.S.: They're really beautiful...)

Love Sails Tee-Shirt.  Mary Jaeger

Fashioned from the softest cotton one can imagine, with sparkling Love Sails motif, these
pretty Tees come from one of our newest textile artists, Mary Jaeger. They come in all sizes
and several different colors; we have primarily black on hand at the moment, in
differing motifs, and some long-sleeved varieties; also some VERY special shibori-dyed
Tees, in long and short sleeves.  Great for layering.

Mary also creates other stunning shawls, scarves, shirts, neckwraps and capes,
in some of the loveliest textiles we've seen.

Gold Delphic Sybil.  Curt Labitzke

Last but not least, an example of Curt Labitzke's amazing artistry
in this intaglio print inspired by ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman art.

For a discussion of Professor Labitzke's fascinating work, scroll back
one blog post, or click here.

That's it for October.  Stay tuned as we ramp up for holiday shopping in November, beginning with the exhibit opening on First Friday, November 1st:  Holiday Tables.

More about that very soon!

In the meantime, if you'd like to sign up to have notices of this and other events, sales and shows, send your e-mail address to sr@theislandgallery.net and we'll deliver notices right to your inbox!

Oh, and on October 31st, please, please watch out for those little (and not so little) goblins and ghouls...

The Gallery's Annual January Sale

As we all recover from the holiday festivities, here is one more reason to drag ourselves off the couch:

The Island Gallery's Annual January Sale!!

All items in the Gallery, 10% Off

Sale Rack items, 20 - 50% Off

The sale lasts through January 31, 2013.

Online shoppers, please contact the gallery directly to take advantage of these discounts.

e-mail:

ssn@theislandgallery.net

Phone:

206.780.9500