At VALISE: Votives, dresses and a ‘big drawing’
Vashon artist Elizabeth Conner and Patti Shaw, a Seattle artist who transforms found materials into unexpected forms and textures, will display their work at VALISE, brightening the mid-winter light with reflective materials and what Conner calls an energetic “back-room installation.”
Shaw, an artist with a background in textiles and quilting, will display “Votive Offerings,” works created with materials left over from the lighting of votive candles at Seattle’s St. James Cathedral. Shaw said she likes to think that the vestiges of these votives “still carry traces of a prayer. When working with these materials, I feel a connection to the many people who … lit these candles to find peace.”
Shaw is an emerging artist whose work is included in this year’s Center on Contemporary Art’s annual invitational show in Seattle, a prestigious venue.
Conner, a member of VALISE, is interested in how people move through and interact with architectural spaces. That, combined with a drastic clean-up effort in her studio, inspired what she’s calling “a big drawing” that will occupy the back half of the gallery space.
“I love the freedom to experiment and improvise provided by this frisky collaborative group called VALISE,” she said. Noting that normally she does permanent artwork for permanent spaces, she added, “I jump at the chance to make something that will probably surprise me and just might fall apart.”
VALISE will also host a community workshop relating to improvisation and “three-dimensional” drawing later in the month of February.
‘Not your grandmother’s quilts’ will adorn the Blue Heron
An unusual array of quilts will adorn the walls of the Blue Heron Gallery this month, when the Contemporary QuiltArt Association (CQA) comes to the intimate space with an exhibit of 20 pieces.
This is not the CQA’s first visit to Vashon, a mecca for quilters. The statewide organization had a show five years ago that was well-received and dazzling, said Janice Randall, Vashon Allied Arts’ director of communications and performing arts.
“These are not your grandmother’s quilts,” said Randall.
Some use items found in nature or unusual fabrics and threads to create three-dimensional pieces, she said. “These are art quilts,” she added.
The show will include the works of 11 artists, displaying quilts that range in size and style. Among the pieces will be quilts that include hand-painted or hand-dyed silks, Japanese indigo, appliqué and silkscreen. Some artists use the “discharge dying” method, a process of removing color from fabric, often with intricate designs from stencils, Randall said.
This year marks CQA’s 25th anniversary, which it will honor with a show later this year at the Tacoma Convention Center. Run entirely by volunteers, the organization boasts a membership comprised of artists, teachers, writers and other indivuduals dedicated to exploring textile mediums in new and surprising ways.
“VAA is excited about hosting them for their 25th anniversary. They are such a professional organization. I appreciate their strong emphasis on arts education,” said gallery curator Janice Mallman.
The artists will attend the First Friday event from 6 to 9 p.m. There will also be live jazz with horn player Richard Person and pianist Jim Hobson.
Also on display for First Friday
Sheila Park’s work — collages that include found objects and buttons from her childhood — will be at Blooms & Things.
Student art from Carpe Diem will adorn Books by the Way.
Café Luna will show the photography of Colin Brynn, a Vashon resident who has spent the last 12 years traveling the world and documenting the people and landscapes of Central America, South America, Western Europe, Southeast Asia and the Western United States. This exhibit will feature images from his travels through Burma.
The Hardware Store Restaurant will display oil and acyrlic paintings by Kathryn Hodges, a Seattle resident who spent her childhood summers on Vashon.
Heron’s Nest will feature photography by Peter Serko as well as a book-signing by author Richard Rogers, who wrote “100 Words for Rain.”
Vashon photographers Piro Kramar and Steven Moore will make their artistic debut at the Tea Shop, where they will display photographs representing their interests in shapes and patterns found in nature (Kramar) and human emotions (Moore). They will donate all proceeds from the sale of their photos to Vashon Island Pet Protectors.
Two Wall Gallery will host its annual “Go Figure: Body of Work,” an interpretive figure study show. Over a half dozen artists will be featured, including former Gallery 070 founder Tara Snowden (collage), Alice Larson (origami), Greg Davila (photography) and new collage work by returning October featured artist Eric Edwards.
Vashon Bookshop will feature the hand-woven baskets and wallpockets by Barbara Gustafson.
Vashon Intuitive Arts will host an exhibit by Vashon artist Anne Gordon titled “The Heart Mandala Show – An Avant-Guard Perspective of Now.” Mandalas are used for meditation and are considered by some a representation of the unconscious self. By combining geometry with art, Gordon says she believes these works will pull people into intricate geometrics “where the viewer can feel a sense of mystical oneness.”
Vashon Senior Center will present Cynthia Delgado Williams’ ink drawings and paintings, work depicting her inner life.
Wings Gallery at Wings Birdseed Company will offer works by Mary Lawrence (oil on canvas), Ann Nicklason (oil on canvas or board), John Martin (mixed media) and Ina Whitlock (found object assemblage).
