Tuesday, November 15, 2011

HAY EWE!


HAY EWE is another piece using the play on words or word play idea for the E-I-E-I-HO-HO-HO group show at The Gallery, Bainbridge Arts & Crafts Gallery. My mother's cousin is a real punster, he is a master punster, so it must run somewhere through my blood to want to play with words in this fashion.

Here, similar to some previous pieces I am thinking outside of the matte. If you have read many of my other previous posts you know I like creating depth in my work whenever possible. I like to think the layers lure the viewer in, at least that is my experience while I am in the process of developing and completing a piece.

If you are in the vicinity from December 2 through January 2 stop in to see the creations all the artists came up with using farm as their muse. And thanks for visiting these pages when you have the inclination to.

Below is a closer shot of this piece. Remember to click on the photos for a larger image.



all rights reserved by the artist Linda Jarvis © 2011

Monday, October 24, 2011

EWE & YOU



This is a fun piece I put together for an upcoming group show at The Gallery, Bainbridge Arts & Crafts Gallery on Bainbridge Island. The title of the show is E-I-E-I-HO-HO-HO! The theme is farm, such as in farm animals, buildings, equipment, etc. For this piece I decided to play with words. It is a wall mirror that sits away from the wall about an inch creating shadow behind it with my depiction of a ewe and when you look in the mirror you will appear with the ewe, hence the title...EWE & YOU.
Dimensions are 11.5H X 13W X 1.25D

all rights reserved by the artist Linda Jarvis © 2011

Saturday, October 8, 2011

RUNNING, LAUGHING, WILD AND FREE

This piece is that which I mentioned in my previous post where I hoped to find a photo showing similarity to the piece one of my art school instructors, Fred Griffin, created using old patinaed cedar shingles for a ground to create a work of art. I rather like the moss and lichen texture on the shingles in his piece (see below) which promote more interest, from my viewpoint. In my piece above I fashioned pine needles, some stiff and some lanky, tree bark for the wild burro, feathers and waxed string for the mane. This piece goes back to 1987... It was a commentary on the demise of the wild burro.


Wednesday, September 14, 2011

REFLECTING & REMEMBERING


I have noticed that as I progress in age I find myself reflecting back on my life and what were the moments that left the most significant impact and that stayed in my memory. Most recently it has been my experiential learning years in commercial art school. I attended The Burnley School of Professional Art, founded in 1946, owned and directed by Jess Cauthorn when he purchased it in 1959 (Mr. Cauthorn purchased the Burnley School of Professional Art, and worked alongside William Cumming, Fred Griffin, Austin Dwyer, and many others in creating the premier commercial arts college in the Pacific Northwest.) and since 1982 is now known as The Art Institute of Seattle. During those first three years of the 70's studies in commercial art, design and illustration under the instructive encouragement of Bill Cumming, Fred Griffin, Austin Dwyer, Jess Cauthorn and other prominent northwest artists, as well as private studies in the fine arts, provided me with a wonderfully broad background in various disciplines and media. It was such a privilege to study in such an enriching, friendly and intimate atmosphere with these NW icons.

Just last month I sadly learned that 2 of my favorite and most revered instructors, Bill Cumming and Fred Griffin have past on from this world. Bill last November and Fred just in April. I will always remember them as I knew them then in 1970-72 (as in B/W photos above). I gleaned so much insight into the realms of art and graphic design from these two free spirited artists during my years at Burnley and small private classes from Fred. All of which I utilize so much in my creative process/work and in life and will never lose.

I also learned recently that Bill had written a book back in the 80's. Of course, upon this knowledge, I had to acquire my own copy. It is titled: Sketchbook-A Memoir of the 30's & The Northwest School.
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It is autobiographical covering many years from his early 20's as well as looking into the lives and goings-on of all the artist icons within the NW School, such as Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Guy Anderson and Ken and Margaret Callahan. It is quite a first hand history with personal insights of the art scenes in Seattle and the Northwest and his accounts of his involvment in the WPA Art Project during the depression. He writes with clever humor and shrewdness. A delightful and eye-opening read.

To Fred and Bill's spirits...thank you both for the illumination you brought to my years of learning and to my life as an artist, not to mention the world of art. You will always be remembered and missed dearly.

William Cumming, a member of the noted Northwest School of artists, died Nov. 22, 2010.
Photo Credit Annette Bauman
William Cumming 1917-2010
A celebrity in the local art scene and best known as the youngest and longest standing member of the Northwest School with Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves and Mark Tobey. He called himself "The Willie Nelson of Northwest Painting".

Doug HienLien
Fred Griffin 1931-2011
Artist and graphic designer, creating in every moment. Prolific in every sense of the word.

Here are some quotes, the first one I particularly relate to, especially the last sentence: "Get the mark down. Put your germinal thoughts into visual impacts. Notes, sketches, exercises in finding, filing, assembling and storing for visual feedback/scanning. Here is the priority, the calisthenics make all the difference. Here is the visual thinker, not the verbal thinker." FG

Well, this one hits home, too:"I am the Fantasy Archeologist. The investigator of the visible. My paintings tie together years of metamorphic work that range from seed pods to whole orchestrated walls each part of a series celebrating Nature’s magical glimpses. The jewel-like hints that mean a vast untapped treasure lies within the earth’s surface. The archeologist begins to brush aside the surface to get to the source. I want to give the viewer the excitement of that moment - to give him the desire to uncover - peel away - to draw him through my paint strokes and surface edges. I want each viewer to feel the fascination when a glowing fossil has been unearthed. I want him to begin to read the romance of the painting." FG

And this: "I believe a painting should have an attractive quality from afar. The image should have a thoughtfulness that reads further into the painting, that rewards the viewer who wants to think about it. In other words – attraction with meaning." FG

I recently discovered a web-site of Fred's work that I've never found googling in the past. It is so fantastic to reference so much of his work. This piece above is reminiscent of a piece I did years ago titled "Running, Laughing, Wild and Free", where I used old cedar shingles in the same fashion...I didn't use spent sparklers, a nice use, but I did use very long pine needles in much the same way. If I can find an old photo of this piece I will post it. Minds think alike...kindred spirits.

I hope you will take some time to read about these 2 amazing individuals and view their artwork at the links I provided above. When you view Fred's vast body of work on his site you will recognize why I related to him, his approach and reverence to nature as I have over the years. I will miss knowing they are still in our world, but they left behind a wonderful legacy, visual and otherwise.
Onward...


Friday, July 1, 2011

ARTIST STUDIO BARN SALE HIGHLIGHTS



For those who did not make the 3rd Annual Artist Studio Sale last weekend, this is Gunther, our friendly crocodile sculpture (by Shane Miller) who greets our guests as they enter the magical world of GreyBird Barn Studio.




This year, with the help of my husband, I faced the wall with sound board for an easier hang.

Many thanks go out again to my sister, Wendy, and friends Kristi, Carrie and Ari for all the help they offered to our efforts. Their generosity of spirit is so very much appreciated by all of us.
With such heartful team endeavors we brought to fruition our annual event once again. Thank you!


Wednesday, June 15, 2011

ARTIST STUDIO SALE at GreyBird Barn


June 25th and 26th is fast arriving. We are all hoping you will be able to stop by the charming GreyBird Barn in Port Townsend for our 3rd Annual Artist Studio Sale. Come visit a while, share news, have some refreshments, introduce yourself and even take home an artful acquisition!

The directions on the post card above are as follows: Look for our signs just outside Port Townsend. Off Sims Way/HWY 20 take Frederick St. east to Otto St. Turn left and follow the signs to bottom of the hill. A large crocodile sculpture will let you know you've arrived. We are located at 11 Carroll Ave. See you there!

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

SAVE THIS DATE

Our Artist Studio Sale is coming up soon so please save these dates. We will open GreyBird Barn again with 5 of us showing our goods the weekend of June 25 & 26.


Please check back for more details, I promise I will update the information so you can find us easily.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

COMMENTING ON A COMMENT

Time has escaped me once again, as life is full and demands are high, but here I am. A while back I mentioned I would remark on one of the complimentary comments I received back in the fall of last year. It was my surprise that they featured some of my corvid images on their site that they've dedicated to ravens and crows and the such, a site for corvid connoisseurs. It is quite a wonderful site so please be sure to visit AvesNoir.
You will find the link to my feature page bottom center of the nine image blocks on their home page.
Their comment: I am absolutely enchanted by your work! We have featured it over at AvesNoir. Enjoy!
Thanks for the feature Aves Noir! It is much appreciated!

The image above is a detail shot of a piece titled "Identity Theft".

Monday, February 21, 2011

TEMPUS FUGIT

Well, here again I have let months go by since my last blog entry. I am taking a bit of a hiatus from hanging out in my studio and creating art. This is due to my elderly mother who is in need of my attention and since I live so close I am accepting the responsibility to look after her with the occasional help of my sister and others who know her. It feels right to give back to her while she is in her waning years...after all, our mothers give so much, so happily to us as children, at least mine did and for that I feel very fortunate. She is so sweet and good natured and we get along great.

It does, however, feels a bit odd to be away from my studio, that is, to not be spending any real length of time there, but I feel that my absence will generate some interesting work in the future. I will have a whole new perspective and a fresh start. Meanwhile, I will be musing and keep my sketch book handy.

Since you are reading this, I thank you for returning to see what might be new on these pages. My apologies for no visuals this time, other than the Artists Musing image above, which I love. Do keep coming back, though, as eventually I will have something new to share.

My next post will be in regard to a comment I received some time back, the latter part of last year, and I want to share it with you. I think you will enjoy it.

Thanks for tuning in.